rnia 
,1 


t 


THE   HELM, 


THE  SWORD,  AND  THE  CROSS: 


A   LIFE    I^ARKATIVE. 


BY  ALFRED  M.  LORRAIN, 

'/ 

OP  THE  CINCINNATI   CONFERENCE. 


CINCINNATI: 

PUBLISHED  BY  POE  &  HITCHCOCK; 

CORNER   OF   MAIN   AND  EIGHTH   STREETS. 


E.    P.    THOMPSON,    PRINTER. 
1862. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1862, 
BY  POE  &  HITCHCOCK, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  tho 
Southern  District  of  Ohio. 


OOI^TEI^TS 


PAGE. 

INTRODUCTION 7 

I. 
PARENTAGE 11 

II. 
CHILDHOOD 25 

III. 

SEA-LIFE 50 

IV. 

VOYAGE  UP  THE  NORTH  SEA 69 

V. 

STORMS  AND  SHORT  ALLOWANCE 80 

VI. 
SECOND   MATE— PRIVATEERING 89 

VII. 
SOLDIER-LIFE 98 

VIII. 

SIEGE  OF  FORT  MEIGS 116 

3 


4  CONTENTS. 

IX. 

PAGE. 

THE  SEQUEL  AT  FORT  MEIGS 138 

X. 

ENEMY  PURSUED— DISCHARGED— HOME 149 

XI. 

THE  CAPTURED  BUGLE 165 

XII. 

RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE— LORENZO  DOW 170 

XIII. 

CAMP  MEETING— DAWNING  OF  LIGHT 180 

XIV. 

NEW  ORLEANS— FIRST  SERMON 188 

XV. 

LAND-OFFICE  RECEIVER— DIVERS  LABORS 197 

XVI. 

LICENSED  TO  PREACH— LIFE  IN  NEW  ORLEANS 207 

XVII. 

LEAVE     NEW    ORLEANS  —  SCHOOL-TEACHING  —  CAMP 
MEETING 220 

XVIII. 

SETTLE  IN  XENIA— THE  MINISTRY 234 

XIX. 

ITINERANT  LIFE— COLUMBUS  CIRCUIT....  ...  244 


CONTENTS.  5 

* 

XX. 

PAGE. 

FIRST  CONFERENCE— BRUSH  CREEK  CIRCUIT 264 

XXI. 

• 

MIAMI  AND  MAD  RIVER  CIRCUITS 283 

XXII. 

ZANESVILLE  CIRCUIT 299 

XXIII. 

DELAWARE  CIRCUIT 305 

XXIV. 

MOUNT  VERNON  CIRCUIT 319 

XXV. 

UNION  AND  MADISONVILLE  CIRCUITS 329 

XXVI. 

WEST  UNION  CIRCUIT 340 

XXVII. 

FRANKLINTON  AND  CIRCLEVILLE  CIRCUITS 353 

XXVIII. 
URBANA  STATION 364 

XXIX. 

HAMILTON  STATION— MONROE  CIRCUIT 371 

XXX. 

PUTNAM  STATION 380 

XXXI. 

ASBURY  CIRCUIT— HARMAR  STATION....  ...  387 


6  CONTENTS. 

t 

XXXII. 

PAOI. 

FULTON  STATION— GENERAL  CONFERENCE 395 

XXXIII. 

BETHEL  CAUSE .*. 408 

XXXIV. 

COLLEGE  AGENCY— MILFORD  AND  B ATA VI A  CIRCUITS...  423 

XXXV. 

MISCELLANEOUS  WORK....  ...  441 


II^TEODTJOTIOlSr. 


I  HAVE  frequently  been  requested  by  ministerial 
brethren  to  write  my  life;  but  I  felt  so  unworthy, 
in  the  midst  of  so  many  pious  and  useful  men 
around  me,  that  I  was  contented  with  my  name  to 
be  left  written  on  the  sandy  shore  of  time,  where  a 
few  succeeding  waves  might  soon  wash  it  away 
from  the  view  of  mortals.  It  is  comparatively 
easy  to  write  the  life  of  another.  And  some 
authors  will,  unconscious  of  wrong,  clothe  their 
subjects  in  almost  angelic  vestments,  so  that  the 
youthful  reader  almost  despairs  of  a  faint  imita- 
tion of  the  character.  Perhaps  there  are  few  of 
the  illustrious  dead  who  would  be  willing  to 
indorse  their  biographies.  But  for  one  to  write 
his  own  life — is  the  tug.  Several  times,  even  to 
the  close  of  my  manuscript,  I  have  been  tempted 

to  throw  the  whole  batch  into  the  fire.     Certain  it 

7 


O  INTRODUCTION. 

is,  that  nothing  less  than  the  request  of  my  Con- 
ference could  have  induced  me  to  undertake  it. 

There  is  another  matter  of  which  we  would  ad- 
vise our  readers;  and  that  is,  our  labors  were  not 
laid  in  the  pioneer  strata — amid  Indian  onslaughts 
and  huntsmen's  adventures.  Some  of  our  oldest 
preachers,  who  have  written  their  autobiographies, 
have  been  able  to  mingle  very  exciting  matters — 
"part  of  which  they  saw,  and  part  of  which  they 
were."  We  belong  to  a  class  a  little  subsequent. 
True,  we  have  labored  where  thrilling  traditions  are 
cherished  and  recited.  But  they  are  traditions; 
and  if  they  are  not  infected  with  accumulation, 
in  descending  to  the  third  generation,  they  have 
been  remarkably  preserved  from  a  great  family 
disease.  We  do  not  wish  to  propagate  any  thing 
but  what  we  know  to  be  truth. 

We  have  looked,  at  the  beginning,  at  the 
many  circuits  and  stations  we  have  occupied,  and 
we  saw  that  we  could  not  do  any  thing  like 
justice  in  giving  the  Church  history  of  each,  with 
all  the  thrilling  incidents,  and  private,  extraordi- 
nary conversions;  so  we  were  led  to  take  only  a 
general  view  of  each — and  soon  found  we  had  to 
be  more  and  more  sparing  in  our  remarks.  And 


INTEODUCTION.  9 

this  abiding  fear  of  swelling  our  work  beyond  all 
reasonable  bounds  has  restrained  our  pen  through- 
out. A  close-written  history  of  our  fields  of  labor 
would  form  of  itself  a  very  large  volume. 

We  have  also  excluded  chapters,  with  all  unnec- 
essary head-dressing,  which  can  answer,  as  far  as 
we  can  see,  no  end  but  to  make  a  large  volume 
out  of  a  little  matter.  Our  difficulty  is  too  much 
matter;  and  we  have,  perhaps,  lessened  the  inter- 
est of  the  work  by  withdrawing  much  of  the  orig- 
inal matter  from  the  manuscript.  The  time  has 
come  for  our  people  to  distinguish  the  comparative 
value  of  a  large  book  with  much  waste  paper,  and 
a  smaller  book  with  one-third  more  matter.  For 
the  same  reason  we  have  avoided  giving  a  list  of 
all  the  appointments  on  a  circuit — appointments 
which  have  long  since  been  altered  or  deranged, 
so  that  the  mere  record  of  their  names  will  leave 
but  little  satisfaction  to  any  one.  And,  although 
we  recollect  with  lively  gratitude  many  noble  men 
and  women — who  have  laid  us  under  lasting  obli- 
gations, which  we  will  remember,  world  without 
end — yet  in  a  Christian  Church,  where  we  have 
met  with  so  many  of  this  stamp,  it  would  swell 
our  book  beyond  measure  only  to  pay  them  a 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

passing  compliment.  It  is  also  true  that,  among 
so  many — and  how  can  it  be  otherwise? — we  have 
met  with  some  of  the  meanest  of  the  mean. 

We  heard  brother  Finley  advise  the  rowdies  at 
a  camp  meeting  not  to  meddle  with  the  Meth- 
odists, on  the  score  of  their  being  non-resistant. 
"Because,"  said  he,  "they  have  been  converted 
from  all  classes;  and,  if  the  devil  should  happen 
to  get  out  of  you  into  them,  they  will  backslide, 
and  half  kill  you.  There  is  no  greater  visible 
devil  on  earth  than  a  backslidden  Methodist." 
But  we  have  left  all  these  to  their  own  master — 
sincerely  praying,  the  Lord  have  mercy  upon 
them!  Some  of  these,  like  pet  bears,  may  be 
recovered  out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil,  and  stand 
among  God's  elect.  And  the  Lord  forbid  that  we 
should  be  found  reviling  them,  as  we  also  are  but 
flesh  and  blood,  and  need  greatly  the  mercy  of 
the  Lord. 


THE  HELM,  THE  SWORD,  AM)  THE  CEOSS. 


PAR  ENT  AOE. 

BIOGEAPHIES  generally — and  we  think  properly — 
begin  with  the  homestead.  My  honored  father  was 
a  descendant  of  a  pious  family  of  the  Huguenots, 
who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  escape  from  their 
father-land  to  England  at  the  revocation  of  the 
edict  of  Nantes.  Family  tradition  runs  the  geneal- 
ogy to  an  honorable  length  beyond;  but  we  are 
satisfied  in  stopping  in  an  atmosphere  decidedly 
pure.  Like  God's  people  of  old,  "they  chose 
rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  children  of  the 
Lord,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  sea- 
son." In  my  very  childhood  I  was  awed  by  the 
solemn  and  earnest  manner  in  which  my  father  con- 
ducted family  worship.  Headers  will,  no  doubt, 
smile  at  his  son  saying  he  was  a  man  of  singular 
morality,  chastity,  and  integrity.  Many  years  after 
his  death,  and  when  we  had  removed  to  Ohio,  a 
Quaker,  in  passing  the  home  of  my  mother,  caught 


12  THE    HELM. 

a  sight  of  my  father's  portrait,  and,  stopping,  he 
placed  his  hands  on  both  sides  of  the  door,  gazed 
a  few  moments  on  the  picture,  and  excjaimed: 
"  Surely,  it  is  my  old  friend,  Thomas  Lorrain !  Is 
thee  his  widow?"  "I  am."  "Well,  I  did  all  my 
trading  at  his  store  for  years;  and  if  there  ever 
was  a  man  of  pure  uprightness  and  honesty,  thy 
husband  was  the  man." 

My  mother,  on  the  maternal  side,  was  of  a 
Roman  Catholic  family.  Her  father  adhered  to 
the  Church  of  England.  When  a  child  she  some- 
times attended  church  with  her  father,  and  some- 
times with  her  mother.  So  she  had  the  benefit  of 
two  ecclesiastical  teats;  but,  according  to  her  own 
account,  found  dry  nursing  at  both.  She  was, 
however,  baptized  in  the  Roman  Church.  Its 
splendid  ornaments,  romantic  tales  of  saints  and 
miracles,  and  the  apparent  austerity  of  its  priests, 
gave  her  the  impression  that  it  was  the  better  Church 
of  the  two.  Indeed,  such  was  the  religious  condi- 
tion of  Maryland  in  that  day,  it  was  hard  to  tell 
where  the  ark  of  God  rested.  When  she  was  about 
seven  years  old,  her  faith  in  Roman  legends  and 
relics  was  shaken  to  its  foundation  by  the  following 
circumstance :  She  had  two  maiden  aunts  who  were 
extremely  devout,  in  their  way.  They  wore,  sus- 
pended from  their  necks,  amulets,  which,  they  told 
her,  contained  pieces  of  the  coat  which  the  Savior 
had  worn  previous  to  his  crucifixion.  She  felt  a 
dread  veneration  for  those  precious  relics,  and 


PAEENTAGE.  13 

longed  for  a  closer  inspection.  Her  aunts,  being 
invited  to  a  party  on  a  certain  occasion,  carelessly 
left  their  religious  charms  on  their  toilet.  My 
mother,  seizing  on  this  as  her  only  opportunity, 
conveyed  them  up  into  a  garret,  and,  ripping  open 
one,  found  a  piece  of  fine  broadcloth,  apparently 
new,  and  of  modern  texture.  But  her  curiosity 
stopped  not  here.  She  opened  the  other  cushion, 
and  found  a  piece  of  like  quality,  but  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent color.  She  had  relied  too  confidently  on  her 
skill  with  the  needle,  and  the  culprit  was  arraigned. 
She  acknowledged  the  outrage,  but  made  a  severe 
attack  on  their  blind  superstition  and  credulity, 
and  the  ladies  looked  at  each  other  as  if  con- 
founded. 

"When  she  was  about  nine  years  of  age,  she  road 
in  her  Testament,  "Ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  men 
for  my  sake;"  and,  "Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall 
revile  you,  and  speak  all  manner  of  evil  of  you," 
etc.  These  words  were  addressed  to  Christ's  disci- 
ples; and  the  question  here  arose,  Has  he  any 
disciples  now  in  the  world?  Surely  not  in  Mary- 
land. The  Eoman  Catholics  are  generally  rich,  and 
highly  honored  by  their  dependents  and  the  poor 
around;  and  the  Church  of  England  is  not  less 
honored.  Her  conclusion  was,  if  there  were  any 
true  Christians  about,  she  had  not  seen  or  heard 
of  them.  But  by  and  by  an  alarm  was  sounded 
through  the  land  that  the  Methodist  preachers 
were  coming,  spreading  most  blasphemous  doc- 


14  THE    HELM. 

trines,  dividing  families,  corrupting  the  young  and 
ignorant,  and,  under  great  pretended  sanctity, 
indulging  in  secret  and  licentious  meetings.  The 
Roman  Catholics  said  they  were  Antichrist — as 
glad  to  get  rid  of  the  suspicion  that  had  been 
thrown  on  their  own  escutcheon,  as  John  Gilpin's 
wife's  horses  were  to  "miss  the  lumbering  of  the 
wheels."  The  Quakers  were  charitable  enough  to 
say,  "But  we  hear  that  they  have  turned  many 
notorious  sinners  into  good  citizens.  Who  knows 
but  that  they  may  be  to  us  as  the  Gibeonites  were 
to  Israel — hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water? 
And  they  may  draw  out  of  the  quarry  many  rough 
stones,  that  may  receive  a  polish  that  will  fit  them 
for  the  interior  and  spiritual  temple."  They  are 
"solves  in  sheep  clothing,"  said  the  Churchmen — 
"Lo  Here's  and  Lo  There's — who  will,  if  possible, 
deceive  God's  own  elect."  But  what  was  their  con- 
sternation when  a  bomb  was  dropped  in  their  midst, 
by  the  announcement  that  a  Methodist  minister 
would  preach  to  them  on  a  certain  day — God  will- 
ing!  This  was  the  invariable  form  of  an  appoint- 
ment in  those  days — so  that  there  might '  be  no 
after-claps  in  case  of  uncontrollable  disappointment; 
and  they  learned  it  of  St.  James.  On  the  day 
appointed,  my  grandmother  sallied  out  alone,  as  the 
scout  for  the  whole  family.  When  she  returned  all 
were  anxious  to  hear  the  decision.  "Well,"  said 
she,  in  a  very  pleasant  mood,  "he  was  zealous  and 
earnest,  and  I  had  no  fault  to  find  of  him,  except 


PARENTAGE.  15 

» 

he  ran  down  all  innocent  amusements  —  such  as 
dancing,  card-playing,  etc."  My  mother  could  hold 
in  no  longer.  "The  very  people  of  whom  the  Savior 
said,  'They  should  speak  all  manner  of  evil  — 
falsely!'"  My  mother  was  permitted  to  attend  the 
next  appointment.  A  plain  and  solemn  man  stood 
up,  and  took  for  his  text — "The  day  of  the  Lord  is 
near,  it  is  near,  and  hasteth  greatly,  even  the 
voice  of  the  day  of  the  Lord;  the  mighty  man  shall 
cry  there  bitterly,"  etc.  Every  word,  look,  and  mo- 
tion of  the  minister  deeply  impressed  her.  She  said 
within  herself,  "This  talk  is  more  like  the  language 
of  the  New  Testament  than  any  I  have  ever  heard." 
She  was  deeply  convicted. 

As  she  returned  home,  across  the  field,  she  heard 
a  voice  behind  her — "Miss  Betsey!"  It  was  the 
voice  of  a  colored  man,  who  lived  in  the  town. 
"Miss  Betsey,  did  you  ever  hear  a  man  talk  like 
that  man?  He  used  some  high  words,  and  I  may 
not  have  understood  him,  and  I  thought  you  might 
explain  his  discourse.  I  understood  him  that  we 
must  be  born  over,  get  new  hearts,  and  that  we 
might  know  our  sins  to  be  forgiven."  Here  my 
mother  took  up  the  text,  and  recapitulated  the  whole 
sermon,  while  big  tears  rolled  down  the  negro's  face. 
Another  arrow  was  driven  home — the  exhortation 
of  our  Savior  fulfilled — "Let  him  that  heareth  say 
come."  The  carrying  out  this  was  a  great  auxiliary 
to  the  ministry  in  that  day.  Preachers  were  few, 
and  could  not  half  supply  the  country.  People 


16  THE  HELM. 

•• 

would  come  to  town  or  market,  hear  a  Methodist 
preach,  get  under  great  concern,  and  when  they 
returned  home,  as  soon  as  it  was  known  that  they 
had  heard  a  real  Methodist,  many  would  come  and 
say,  "Do  tell  us  about  their  doctrine."  "Their  doc- 
trine is  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible.  The  man  said 
we  were  all  sinners;  that  we  might  often  promise 
to  do  better  in  our  own  strength;  but  all  our  prom- 
ises and  solemn  vows  were  like  ropes  of  sand — no 
sooner  made  than  broken."  "That  is  certainly  true. 
No  man  of  common-sense  will  say  that  he  is  not  a 
sinner.  Well,  what  then?" 

"He  said  that  'the  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die. 
If  we  die  in  our  sins,  hell  will  be  our  portion  for- 
ever and  ever.'     He  was  no  ways  mealy-mouthed." 
"That  seems  reasonable;  but  how  can  we  help  it?" 
"  He  added — God  had  compassion  on  us,  and  gave 
up  his  Son  to  die  for  us,  and  to  lay  a  broad  platform 
of  mercy  on  which  he  may  be  just,  honor  his  law, 
and  pardon  penitent  sinners,  who  believe.    If  we  be- 
lieve heartily  and  sincerely  God  will  forgive  us  our 
sins,  and  give  us  an  evidence  of  our  acceptance.    And 
this,  by  the  grace  of  God,  is  what  I  am  seeking  for." 
"But  how  do  you  intend  to  seek  for  this  faith?" 
"The  preacher  said,  in  the  use  of  the  means  of 
grace — reading  the  Word  of  God,  occasional  fasting, 
watching  over  our  hearts,  and  against  our  spiritual 
enemies,  earnest  prayer;  then  as  God  gives  us  grace, 
ceasing  to  do  evil,  and  learning  to  do  well." 

"The  Lord  knows  it  is  high  time  for  us  all  to  be 


PAHENTAGE.  17 

doing  better.  Will  you  not  hold  prayer  meetings  in 
your  house,  and  take  some  lead  in  this  matter?" 

"Yes,  if  there  are  any  among  you  who  fear  God, 
and  are  determined  to  flee  the  wrath  to  come,  and 
will  join  me  in  prayer,  we  will  have  meetings,  and 
if  the  Lord  bless  us,  we  will  try  to  get  a  preacher 
to  help  us."  This  was  the  way  that  the  work 
enlarged.  Those  who  heard  said,  "Come."  And 
great  was  the  number  of  believers  that  was  raised 
up  in  Maryland.  My  mother  did  not  join  the 
Church  at  that  time,  but  she  had  gained  much. 
The  Eoman  errors  which  had  been  so  deeply  im- 
pressed on  her  tender  childhood  were  obliterated. 
She  learned  that  the  kingdom  of  God  was  not  meat 
or  drink,  but  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost;  and  that  God  had  still  a  people  on 
earth.  She  studied  the  Word  of  God,  attended  the 
means  of  grace,  and  prayed  much;  and  for  two  or 
three  years  endured  almost  continuous  conviction. 

Before  she  had  passed  her  teens  she  yielded,  and 
joined  the  Church,  with  a  fixed  purpose  to  use  all 
her  ordained  and  prudential  means  of  grace  in  seek- 
ing full  salvation.  She  retired  to  an  upper  room, 
and  spent  nearly  two  days  in  transforming  her  fash- 
ionable wardrobe,  and  in  prayer.  In  this  she  was 
opposed  by  those  whom  she  loved  most  tenderly.  But 
her  heart  was  fixed.  We  have  often  heard  her  say 
since,  that  without  calling  into  question  the  religion 
of  others,  this  with  her  was  a  necessity.  The  Spirit 

of  God  so  clearly  wrote   this  duty  on  her  truly- 

2 


•  18  THE    HELM. 

awakened  heart  that  non-compliance  would  have 
been  nothing  else  but  obstinate  rebellion.  The 
magnitude  of  the  cross  which  she  lifted  can  scarcely 
be  conceived  of  by  the  young  members  of  the 
Church  in  this  day.  It  was  an  irreligious  day. 
Her  relatives  and  associates  moved  in  the  highest 
circle  of  Annapolis.  Dancing,  card-playing,  and 
fashionable  parties  were  all  considered  very  innocent 
amusements.  Extravagance  of  dress  had  no  moral 
boundaries.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Methodist 
usages,  in  regard  to  external  bearing,  might  have 
been  like  the  negro's  tree — so  perpendicular  that  it 
leaned  a  "leetle  the  other  way" — with  this  advant- 
age, it  was  on  virtue's  side.  Behold  her,  then,  pass- 
ing through  their  shining  ranks  arrayed  in  what 
we  now  call  Quaker  plainness,  and  instead  of  a  high 
head-dress,  and  powdered  hair,  over  an  enormous 
cushion,  a  simple  cap,  unruffled  and  unadorned. 
Jewelry  was  out  of  the  question.  While  playing 
the  last  game  at  cards  which  she  ever  played,  a 
splendid  finger-ring,  without  any  known  natural 
cause,  snapped  and  flew  on  the  table.  Yet  old  men 
have  told  us  that  this  novel  plainness  had  peculiar 
attractions;  and  that  a  great  trouble  with  the 
Church  was  to  prevent  irreligious  young  men  run- 
ning off  their  girls  into  unequal  matrimony.  It  is 
an  underground  sentiment  in  the  bosom  of  every 
sensible  man,  that 

"  Loveliness 

Needs  not  the  foreign  aid  of  ornament, 
But  is  when  unadorned  adorned  the  most." 


PARENTAGE.  19 

Otherwise  I  could  not  have  claimed  a  father  of  un- 
usual intelligence  and  classical  polish. 

My  mother  was  particularly  opposed  by  her  step- 
father. More  than  once  he  threatened  to  close  his 
door  upon  her  if  she  attended  the  Methodist  meet- 
ings. But  undismayed  she  attended  to  every  duty. 
After  her  marriage,  when  lying  upon  his  death-bed 
full  of  penitence  and  contrition,  he  desired  prayer. 
When  asked  who  should  be  sent  for,  he  answered, 
"Send  for  Betsey  and  her  husband.  If  God  has 
any  true  children  on  earth,  they  are.  They  are 
tried,  faithful,  and  chosen."  And  she  had  the  holy 
triumph  of  seeing  her  greatest  opposer  buried  in 
hope  of  eternal  life.  All  her  oppositions  would  have 
been  lighter  if  she  had  only  enjoyed  an  evidence  of 
her  acceptance.  This  she  earnestly  sought;  and  one 
day,  while  much  engaged  in  her  retirement,  she 
received  an  overwhelming  manifestation  of  the 
power  of  Grod,  and  entered  into  the  enjoyment  of  a 
spiritual  life.  We  have  been  thus  particular  in 
merely  extracting  from  her  written  experience, 
because  her  case  was  similar  to  hundreds  of  the 
children  of  the  ancient  Catholic  families  of  Mary- 
land, who  found  a  rest  in  the  Methodist  Church — 
that  blessed  asylum  for  all  who  are  oppressed  of  the 
devil.  My  converted  mother  was  the  little  leaven 
that  leavened  nearly  the  whole  family. 

This  pious  young  lady  was  subsequently  my 
mother.  She  raised  four  enterprising  sons,  and  four 
lovely  daughters.  In  the  last  years  of  her  widow- 


20  THE     HELM, 

hood  she  was  with  me  in  my  itinerant  movements, 
and  counseled  me,  and  prayed  for  me.  She  died  in 
great  peace  in  the  parsonage  on  Madison ville  circuit. 
When  near  her  end  I  endeavored  to  console  her 
with  the  idea  of  her  speedy  reunion  with  her 
mother,  whom  she  had  loved  with  deathless  affec- 
tion. She  looked  up  with  great  astonishment,  and 
said,  "Why,  my  son,  what  straitened  views  you 
have  of  the  coming  glory!  True,  I  shall  see  my 
mother  and  all  my  pious  friends  deceased;  but  0,  I 
shall  see  much  more  than  this — I  shall  see  my 
beloved  Savior,  who  died  upon  the  cross  for  me.  0 
Alfred,  my  son,  Alfred, 

'Preach  HIM  to  all,  and  cry  in  death, 
Behold,  behold  the  Lamb !' " 

I  have  never  heard  that  line  read  or  sung  since 
without  a  peculiar  touch.  And  the  idea  of  Jesus 
being  the  all-absorbing  view  of  the  dying  saint  has 
ever  since  been  deeply  sunken  in  my  theology. 
Brother  Barrett,  of  precious  memory,  once  gave  me 
a  beautiful  illustration  of  this  doctrine  in  the  rela- 
tion of  a  dream  which  he  once  had. 

"Brother,"  said  he^  "if  you  can  have  patience  to 
hear  the  recital,  I  will  relate  a  dream  which  I  had 
many  years  since^  Indeed,  I  have  always  been  at 
a  loss  what  to  call  it — whether  a  dream,  vision,  or 
trance — for  it  was  certainly  distinct  from  all  my 
mental  exercises,  before  or  since,  sleeping  or  awake. 
In  the  morning  of  my  ministry,  my  mind  was 


PARENTAGE.  21 

greatly  harassed  in  regard  to  the  Divine  call,  as 
is  quite  common,  you  know,  with  preachers.  Hav- 
ing gone  through  with  a  string  of  discouraging  ap- 
pointments, without  perceiving  any  immediate  fruit, 
and  being  greatly  depressed  with  the  most  hum- 
bling views  of  my  own  inefficiency,  I  concluded  to 
wind  up  my  traveling  career,  at  least,  and  retire. 
I  had,  however,  an  evening  appointment  at  a  pri- 
vate house,  where  I  had  not  yet  been,  and  concluded 
it  should  be  my  last.  I  was  late  in  reaching  the 
place,  and  commenced  the  services  immediately. 
When  the  congregation  had  retired,  I  felt  so  ex- 
hausted in  body  and  afflicted  in  mind,  that  I  wished 
to  sleep.  The  brother  pointed  me  to  the  room  which 
was  prepared  for  me,  and  I  retired  without  a  candle. 
As  soon  as  my  tired  head  was  laid  upon  the  pillow, 
it  seemed  as  if  the  heavy  hand  of  Death  was  sud- 
denly laid  upon  me.  I  never  expect  in  the  final  sep- 
aration of  my  soul  and  body — by  whatever  means — 
to  experience  more  physical  anguish  than  was  en- 
dured on  that  occasion.  The  whole  body  of  vitality 
and  consciousness  appeared  to  be  rapidly  withdraw- 
ing from  all  my  extremities  and  members,  and  con- 
centrating their  forces  in  my  breast.  Thence  they 
ascended  into  my  throat.  One  more  agonizing 
spasm  and  gasp,  and  my  unharnessed  spirit  was 
calmly  gazing  on  the  pale  body  which  it  had  left. 
There  seemed  to  be  nothing  peculiar  in  the  light 
that  was  about  me,  but  matter  and  things  wero 
as  clear  and  indisputable  in  my  perception  as  or- 


22  THEHELM. 

dinary  noonday  scenery.  The  next  thing  that  ar- 
rested my  attention  for  a  moment  were  certain  odd- 
ities which  were  peculiar  to  the  room  in  which 
I  had  lodged,  and  which  I  had  not  seen  in  the 
evening  because  of  the  darkness.  Particularly  did 
I  notice  some  grotesque  figures  which  had  been 
drawn  on  the  wall  by  children,  or  those  who  were 
as  inexperienced  in  the  fine  arts  as  they.  In  the 
next  moment  the  room  with  all  its  furniture  watf 
no  more,  and  my  whole  mind  was  riveted  on  a  per- 
son who  held  a  milk-white  horse,  and  who  com- 
manded me  to  mount  and  follow.  As  we  started, 
I  looked  back,  and  saw  the  farm-house  with  all  its 
appurtenances,  nothing  altered  in  any  respect,  but 
every  thing  wore  the  appearance  and  impress  of  re- 
ality. For  several  miles  we  passed  through  a  coun- 
try of  commonplace  scenery — such  as  I  had  been 
familiar  with  for  several  days. 

"The  roads  were  sometimes  good,  sometimes  mid- 
dling, sometimes  very  bad;  but  in  their  general 
aspect  they  got  better  and  better  as  we  advanced. 
By  and  by  the  air  became  more  balmy — the  land- 
scape more  serenely  sweet.  Extraordinary  prospects 
were  scattered  here  and  there;  groves  and  shrub- 
bery of  unearthly  beauty  and  texture  would  occa- 
sionally appear,  till  at  last  we  seemed  to  be  rang- 
ing a  very  paradise  on  earth.  As  we  ascended  a 
gentle  rise,  my  guide  bade  me  turn  to  the  right. 
I  turned,  and  beheld  a  stupendous  wall  of  rich, 
transparent,  and  precious  stones,  indescribably  va- 


PARENTAGE.  23 

riegated  by  colors,  lights,  and  shades.  And  while 
I  gazed,  its  wide  and  pearly  portals  slowly  swung 
with  a  noiseless  welcome,  and  we  entered  in.  Now 
the  consciousness  overwhelmed  me  that  this  was  not 
an  earthly  but  a  heavenly  paradise.  I  can  no  more 
describe  the  celestial  scenery  than  I  can  the  unut- 
terable ecstasy  that  at  once  possessed  my  soul.  I 
must  give  you,  brother,  the  naked  narrative.  The 
embellishments  lie  on  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
We  traveled  on  a  celestial  highway,  walled  with 
vines,  flowers,  and  deathless  verdure,  such  as  I 
thought  Eden  never  knew,  till  we  came  to  the 
head  of  a  spacious,  and  apparently  endless  avenue. 
Far  in  the  distance  stood  the  dazzling  throne. 
Well  might  a  prophetic  sojourner  on  earth  say, 
'high  and  lifted  up,1  And  then  the  train — the 
millions  of  holy,  happy  ones,  who  flowered  all  the 
plain !  The  aromatic  air,  the  sweet  and  mellow 
music  and  alleluiahs  wafted  through  all  the  bright 
regions  on  high,  I  may  only  mention;  conceive  you 
the  glory  if  you  can.  My  soul  for  once  drank  it 
in,  in  rich  and  generous  draughts.  In  all  this  blaze 
of  light  my  mind  particularized  some  things.  The 
throne  seemed  to  be  sustained  by  seven  pedestals 
of  transcendent  beauty,  receding  as  they  rose  one 
above  another,  so  as  to  present  spacious  platforms. 
These,  with  the  exception  of  a  space  in  the  center, 
were  filled  with  happy  spirits.  When  nearing  this 
glory,  my  guide  commanded  me  to  dismount  and 
walk.  As  I  put  my  foot  on  the  first  step  looking 


24  THE    HELM. 

to  the  right,  I  saw  a  younger  brother  who  had 
lately  died  in  the  hope  of  eternal  life.  As  soon 
as  our  eyes  met,  we  were  locked  in  each  other's 
arms;  and  he  exclaimed,  'My  brother,  0,  my 
brother!  and  so  soon!'  Relations  and  Christian 
brethren  crowded  around,  and  I  thought  I  had 
scaled  the  summit-level  of  all  glory,  and  was  ready 
to  ask,  'Can  heaven  give  me  more?'  but  just  then 
I  glanced  my  eyes  upward,  and  saw  JESUS  !  Brother, 
relations,  all  heaven  were  dropped  like  so  many 
playthings,  and  on  the  upper  platform  I  was  pros- 
trated before  my  Savior,  and  Christ  was  all,  and  in 
all."  We  pursue  not  the  dream  beyond  its  illus- 
tration, although  it  gave  to  the  ministry  of  our 
brother  a  new  tone.  "I  believe,"  said  he,  "the 
highest  joy  of  heaven  is  Jesus  Christ."  We  indorse 
this,  especially  as  it  was  the  doctrine  of  the  in- 
spired apostles.  St.  Paul  says,  "To  be  dissolved 
and  to  be  with  Christ  is  far  better" — better  than 
all  on  earth,  all  in  heaven.  When  St.  Stephen  was 
yielding  up,  he  called  not  father  or  mother,  brother 
or  sister,  but  "Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit!"  And 
I  enjoy  the  continuous  hope  that  my  mother  is 
with  Christ  in  paradise.  If  Christ  is  the  brightest 
bliss  of  heaven,  how  necessary  it  is  that  we  should 
be  conformed  to  his  likeness  here,  that  we  may  see 
him  as  he  is,  and  love  the  appearing  of  the  Lord. 
May  the  Lord  conform  me — the  sinner  me — to  his 
likeness,  that  I  may  enjoy  the  highest  bliss  of 
heaven ! 


CHILDHOOD.  25 


II. 

CHILDHOOD. 

ONE  can  not  lightly  pass  over  the  period  of 
childhood  in  reviewing  his  life.  An  inconsiderable 
impediment  near  the  fountain  may  give  direction  to 
the  sweeping  river.  Early  childhood!  Some  say 
this  is  the  happiest  part  of  human  life.  This,  we 
think,  is  questionable.  There  are  some  things 
vastly  pleasant  to  our  memory  in  overhauling  the 
events  and  circumstances  of  childhood — the  tender 
care  of  our  parents,  the  social  circle  of  the  family, 
the  absence  of  anxious  care  in  regard  to  our  pro- 
vision and  defense,  and  a  thousand  nameless  com- 
forts with  that  state  inseparable — that  will  be 
sacredly  imbedded  in  our  memory  forever.  But 
we  easily  dismiss  from  our  minds  the  trials  and 
afflictions,  mental,  spiritual,  and  physical,  that  fol- 
lowed us  almost  from  the  cradle;  the  disappointed 
hopes,  and  rudely-crushed  toys,  which  gave  us 
keener  anguish  at  the  time  than  the  loss  of  a  ship 
would  give  a  merchant.  "We  have  forgotten  the 
impatience  of  wholesome  restraint,  the  incessant 
longing  for  manhood  and  liberty,  which  appeared 
to  be  ages  distant — and,  not  the  least,  the  drudgery 

of  the  schools,  and  study,  of  which  we  could  not 

3 


26  THE    HELM. 

comprehend  the  end — "creeping  like  snails  unwill- 
ingly to  school."  Still  the  state  of  childhood  is 
interesting.  The  Lord  has  made  it  so.  It  is  a 
doctrine  full  of  grace  and  comfort  to  Christian 
parents,  that  infancy  is  a  state  of  justification;  and, 
if  death  interposes,  the  child  is  assuredly  taken 
from  the  evil  to  come;  for  no  one  can  arrive  at 
maturity  without  being  constrained  to  exclaim, 

"  Crosses,  in  number,  measure,  weight, 
Were  written,  Lord,  for  me." 

But  such  is  the  amazing  love  with  which  parental 
affection  twines  around  the  stricken  one,  that  the 
first  outgushings  of  sorrow  overtop  all  these  divine 
cordials  which  God  administers  to  us.  Indeed,  we 
dare  not  say  that  they  were  intended  for  applica- 
tion till  the  first  showers  of  parental  sorrow  have 
sanctified  the  graves  of  the  little  ones.  Our  Lord 
is  a  sympathizing  power;  and  the  Gospel  does  not 
harden,  but  abundantly  refines,  the  higher  instincts 
of  our  nature.  It  seems  to  us  like  a  mighty  frigate 
standing  down  the  stream  of  time,  with  a  weeping 
world  in  convoy.  When  the  tide  has  slackened,  and 
the  proper  eddy  is  gained,  she  throws  out  her  sig- 
nal to  tack,  and  stem  the  stream,  and  through  the 
silver  trumpet  is  heard,  "Weep  not  for  your  dead 
as  those  who  have  no  hope;  for  if  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which 
sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him." 

A  lady,  an  intimate  acquaintance  of  my  mother, 
had  a  little  daughter  that  she  almost  idolized.     She 


CHILDHOOD.  27 

was  suddenly  taken  away,  and  the  mother  became 
inconsolable.  She  refused  all  nourishment,  and  com- 
fort, and  her  friends  feared  she  would  be  destroyed 
with  overmuch  sorrow.  One  night  she  fell  asleep, 
and  thought  an  angelic  messenger  came  to  her,  and, 
with  a  benign  smile,  said,  "Would  you  see  your 
Martha?"  The  mother  quickly  replied,  "O,  above 
all  things!"  He  said,  "Then  follow  me."  She  fol- 
lowed him  through  a  long  passage,  till  he  stopped 
and  touched  a  spring:  a  large  door  flew  open — the 
voice  of  merriment,  revelry,  and  dancing  broke 
upon  her  ear — the  room  was  studded  with  lamps, 
chandeliers,  and  reflectors.  The  conductor  pointing 
to  a  tall,  fashionable  young  lady,  with  a  face  flushed 
with  dissipation,  and  who  seemed  to  be  the  idol 
and  leader  of  the  giddy  throng,  he  said,  "Behold 
thy  Martha!"  "0,  no!"  cried  out  the  impassioned 
mother,  "  she  never  could  have  been  that  tawdry, 
sporting  thing.  I  was  bringing  her  up  in  the  fear 
of  the  Lord,  and  training  her  up  for  heaven."  "So 
you  thought,"  said  the  mysterious  stranger;  "but 
every  day  she  was  gaining  on  your  fondness,  and 
you  would  have  got  blinder  and  blinder  to  her  true 
interests,  and  you  would  have  denied  her  nothing; 
and  that  would  have  been  the  result.  But  follow 
me."  Presently  he  touched  another  spring,  and 
wide  and  massive  doors  flew  open,  and  all  heaven 
was  exposed  to  the  enraptured  mother.  She  heard 
the  voice  of  harpers  harping  with  their  harps;  she 
saw  the  white- vested  elders  around  the  throne;  and 


28  THE    HELM. 

far  within  the  interior  glory  stood  a  blithe  and 
agile  form,  crowned  with  glory,  and  with  a  harp  in 
hand,  joining  in  the  new  song.  The  conductor  said, 
"  Behold  thy  Martha  as  she  is !"  The  mother 
echoed  back  the  celestial  shout — the  joy  was  more 
than  earth  could  bear — the  bed  shook,  the  curtains 
trembled — the  saint  awoke  in  midnight  darkness, 
exclaiming,  "Thy  will  be  done,  0  God,  on  earth  as 
in  heaven!  Yes,"  said  she,  "'taken  from  the  evil 
to  come.' "  This  she  had  often  read.  This  had 
lately  been  breathed  into  her  ears  by  sympathizing 
friends.  But  now  she  realized  God's  truth,  and  the 
truth  set  her  free.  When  faith  lays  hold  on  the 
Lord's  promise,  it  is  a  tower  of  strength.  She 
arose  next  morning,  washed  her  face,  combed  her 
hair,  and  went  forth,  with  a  smiling  countenance, 
to  help  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  Christ's  sufferings 
left  behind. 

One  of  the  heaviest  blows  my  mother  received 
was  the  death  of  her  little  daughter,  Caroline. 
Indeed,  the  whole  family  staggered  under  the 
shock.  She  was  a  lovely  child.  The  neighbors 
around  held  her  to  be  a  perfect  sample  of  human 
beauty.  She  was  very  young,  and  I  can  not  believe 
she  had  passed  the  line  of  infant  justification — yet 
her  end  seemed  to  be  a  triumph.  The  disease  was 
too  rapid  to  reduce  her;  her  eyes  assumed  an  unu- 
sual luster,  the  fever  tinged  her  cheek  with  a  higher 
flush — and  a  little  before  her  death  she  awoke  out 
of  a  sleep,  and  said  to  her  mother  with  a  happy 


CHILDHOOD.  29 

smile,  and  her  peculiar  dimples  fluttering  as  she 
spoke,  "0,  ma!  I  have  seen  such  pretty  things — 
prettier  than  I  have  ever  seen !  0,  how  fine !  It 
made  me  feel  so  good!"  "Well,  my  daughter,  tell 
your  mother  about  those  pretty  things."  "No,  no, 
ma,  you  must  not  know  them;  they  would  make 
you  so  sorry."  "Why,  child,  how  can  any  thing 
that  is  so  pretty,  and  makes  you  so  happy,  make 
your  mother  sorry?"  "Yes,  you  would  cry — you 
would  cry  yourself  almost  to  death."  All  the  elo- 
quence of  my  mother — and  that  was  not  small — 
could  not  draw  the  secret  from  her;  and  she  would 
still  advert  to  it,  with  smiles,  till  her  happy  spirit 
passed  away.  All  were  under  the  impression  that 
the  things  which  made  her  so  happy  were  closely 
connected  with  her  death,  and  she  knew  that  would 
almost  break  her  mother's  heart. 

Perhaps  one  may  say,  "What  childish  things  to 
go  into  an  autobiography !"  True,  they  are  child- 
ish; but  remember,  reader,  that  one-tenth  of  a 
man's  life  is  childhood.  And  then  remember  that 
they  can  not  find  a  place  in  a  mere  biography, 
because  the  author  knows  them  not,  And  then 
only  have  patience,  and  we  will  begin  to  grow 
some.  We  were  writing  of  infant  justification. 
But  those  who  live  have  to  doff  those  bandages  of 
Divine  mercy,  and  enter  into  the  world. 

We  have  thought  that  personal  sin,  or  conscious- 
ness of  guilt,  arises  out  of  a  collision  of  Divine  light 
and  human  depravity.  The  child  is  a  sinner  by 


30  THE    HELM. 

nature,  indulges  in  passions  and  tempers  that  arc 
sinful,  but  he  is  unconscious  of  the  wrong.  When 
light  shines  into  the  soul,  so  as  to  distinguish  good 
from  evil,  the  individual  detects  himself  in  evil 
practices  flowing  from  his  depraved  nature;  his 
heart  condemns  him,  and  God,  who  is  greater  than 
his  heart,  also  condemns  him.  He  is  a  sinner  in  an 
incipient  degree  at  least. 

At  what  period  this  change  of  relation  takes 
place,  who  can  tell  ?  Sooner  in  some,  perhaps,  than 
in  others;  and  sooner  in  all  than  men  are  willing, 
in  general,  to  admit.  We  so  judge,  governed  by 
our  own  experience.  As  far  as  my  memory  extends 
back,  I  recognized  myself  as  a  sinner.  I  can  just 
remember  that,  when  a  disease  was  raging  through 
the  country,  sweeping  off  scores  of  children,  it 
struck  me  with  great  violence.  Great  were  my 
convictions.  My  mother  had  carried  me  much  to 
meetings.  The  ministers  in  that  day  were  very 
plain  in  describing  the  morning  of  the  resurrection, 
and  the  judgment-day;  and  I  was  conscious  of  my 
sins.  I  feared  God,  feared  the  grave,  feared  what 
would  follow.  Ardent  desires  rose  from  my  heart — 
call  them  prayers.  All  at  once  a  sacred  calm,  a 
sweet  tranquillity  pervaded  my  mind.  The  fears  of 
death,  hell,  and  the  grave  vanished.  I  could  think 
with  calmness  on  the  closing  scene.  I  believe,  if  I 
had  died  then,  I  should  have  gone  to  heaven — not 
in  virtue  of  infant  justification,  but  as  a  sinner 
saved  by  grace.  While  I  was  lying  in  this  condi- 


CHILDHOOD.  31 

tion,  my  parents  were  preparing  to  move  to  a  resi- 
dence in  the  suburbs.  That  day  they  had  taken  a 
hasty  dinner  in  the  room  where  I  lay.  Having 
been  forbidden  strong  food  for  some  time,  the  flavor 
of  fried  ham  came  flowing  delightfully  on  my  sense, 
and  when  they  withdrew  from  the  room  I  cau- 
tiously tottered  to  the  table,  and,  seizing  the  largest 
slice  in  the  dish,  retreated  to  my  bed,  pulled  the 
cover  over  my  head,  and  feasted  at  my  leisure. 
While  eating,  I  felt  the  glow  of  returning  health 
shooting  to  the  very  ends  of  my  toes  and  fingers. 
Then  I  thought  I  would  live,  and  not  die.  That 
evening  I  was  carried  to  our  new  home.  When  I 
awoke  in  the  morning  the  bright  sun  was  shining, 
a  multitude  of  birds  singing  in  the  trees  around, 
and  the  brightness  of  my  own  mind  was  in  unison 
with  the  loveliness  of  the  scenery  without.  This 
happy  frame  I  did  not  long  retain. 

Although  ever  wandering,  yet  there  was  a  large 
development  of  veneration  within  me.  The  elder 
children — brother  and  sister — seemed  to  recognize 
this,  and  were  willing  to  clothe  me  with  ministerial 
honor.  They  would  sometimes  put  to  me  very 
knotty  questions  in  theology.  At  one  time  they 
said,  "We  have  been  talking  religion,  and  we  have 
been  in  a  puzzle.  You  know  God  made  man  out 
of  the  dust  of  the  earth;  but  we  want  to  find  out 
who  made  the  Lord.  What  do  you  think,  Alfred?" 
Drawing  myself  up  to  my  utmost  dignity :  "  Yes, 
God  made  man  out  of  the  dust;  and  you  may  easily 


32  THE    HELM. 

see  that,  before  he  did  that,  he  lay  down,  and  rolled 
in  the  same  dust,  and  made  hisself."  This  brought 
out  a  screaming  laugh,  which  offended  me,  for  I 
could  see  no  point  to  their  merriment.  This  theory 
was  as  clear  to  my  mind  as  my  own  creation.  At 
another  time  they  got  into  the  habit  of  holding 
meetings.  And,  as  the  congregation  was  small, 
they  determined  to  take  a  pet  cat  into  the  society; 
but,  in  order  to  do  this,  they  must  needs  have  her 
baptized.  Again  I  was  invested  with  power.  "We 
marched  down  to  the  branch,  they  teaching  me  a 
short  formula.  With  all  solemnity  I  took  puss  by 
the  neck,  and  held  her  over  the  water,  and  said,  "I 
baptize  thee — "  But  the  cat  had  other  views;  a 
dangerous  scuffle  ensued,  and  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  say  she  gained  the  victory,  threw  up  her  bristles, 
straightened  her  tail,  and  rushed  away  as  if  horri- 
fied at  our  profane  proceedings.  This  might  have 
been  locked  up  in  the  cabinet  of  childhood-secrecy, 
but  a  young  man  who  attended  in  the  store,  unseen 
by  us,  had  witnessed  the  whole  ceremony;  and  we 
had  to  bear  the  expense  for  years  following. 

On  one  occasion  I  thought  I  would  take  a  step  or 
two  beyond  the  narrow  line  which  had  been  pre- 
scribed. There  was  living  in  our  town  a  young  law- 
yer, who,  notwithstanding  he  was  so  crippled  that 
he  had  to  walk  with  crutches,  was  a  great  repro- 
bate— most  profane  and  vulgar.  His  wickedness 
was  spoken  of  in  all  companies,  and  therefore  I 
hated  him.  One  day  I  was  standing  in  our  back 


CHILDHOOD.  33 

porch  and  saw  him  hobbling  up  the  steps  of  the  ad- 
joining tenement.  I  looked  down  upon  him  and 
cursed  him  as  a  wicked  cripple.  In  the  same 
moment  I  felt  myself  clasped  as  in  a  vise.  It  was 
my  father,  who,  unknown  to  me,  was  standing 
behind.  He  took  me  into  the  counting-room,  and 
drawing  out  a  fresh  cowhide,  it  seemed  to  me  that 
he  would  not  stop  till  he  had  cut  my  legs  off.  It 
might  seem  incredible  to  some,  while  I  add,  that 
although  a  wicked  sailor  for  several  years,  and 
afterward  a  wild  soldier  for  twelve  months,  I  have 
never  cursed  or  swore,  except  lawfully,  since  that 
eventful  day.  I  thought  what  an  awful  sin  it  must 
be  to  compel  my  father  to  punish  me  so.  I  never 
knew  him  to  strike  a  servant  with  a  cowhide;  but 
he  loved  his  son  better  than  his  servants.  If  my 
father  had  smiled  at  my  smartness,  and  told  it  to 
every  visitor,  I  would  have,  doubtless,  gone  on  for 
quantity.  He  was  as  serious  as  the  grave.  I  would 
not  put  him  past  smiling,  when  he  made  the  report 
to  my  mother,  if  it  was  only  at  the  crankness  of  my 
anathema.  I  believe  in  Solomon's  blisters  for  chil- 
dren, in  cases  of  necessity.  On  every  Sabbath  my 
mother  gathered  all  the  young  ones  together — white, 
yellow,  and  black — and  catechised  them  thoroughly. 
We  did  not  enjoy  the  advantages  of  the  Sabbath 
school  in  that  day.  In  the  course  of  my  ministry 
I  have  cherished  that  institution  with  peculiar  care. 
But  here  let  me  say,  if  our  Sunday  school  is  to  cost 
the  abandonment  of  parental  instruction,  our  loss 


34  THE    HELM. 

will  be  incalculable.  The  sweet  seasons  of  maternal 
ministration  have  followed  me  through  every  turn 
of  life. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  we  were  destitute  of  daily 
schools.  We  attended  one  of  the  best  grammar 
schools,  as  they  were  called,  where  we  gradually  were 
led  up  through  the  rudiments  of  the  Latin  language. 
The  doctrine  was,  we  might  be  prepared  for  college, 
or  if  not,  it  would  give  us  a  better  understanding 
of  the  English.  The  idea  in  that  day  and  section 
was,  that  there  was  no  arranged  system  of  English 
grammar  above  the  outlines  that  were  given  in  some 
of  our  spelling-books,  and  that  in  letters  almost 
microscopic.  In  process  of  time  there  came  a 
Yankee,  who  published  that  he  would  teach  the 
English  in  all  its  branches,  and  the  English  gram- 
mar thoroughly.  This  attracted  many  to  his  school. 
Our  schoolmaster  was  a  Scotch  minister,  and  he 
taught  school,  and  administered  to  the  Episcopal 
Church  for  many  years  in  that  place.  My  boyish 
view  of  him  was,  that  he  was  the  most  dignified 
and  awful  personage  in  the  world.  He  was  strict 
in  morality;  but  it  was  not  considered  inconsistent 
by  the  majority  of  the  people  for  him  to  attend  the 
balls,  and  occasionally  the  theaters.  He  had  a  black 
man  named  Moses,  whose  highest  ambition  was  to 
be  a  fac-simile  of  his  master.  As  he  had  all  his 
cast-off  suits,  it  was  not  very  difficult  to  toe  the 
line.  The  parson  was  a  bachelor,  and  as  he  did 
not  wish  to  get  up  in  the  morning  before  the  fire 


CHILDHOOD.  35 

was  made,  he  let  Moses  lock  him  up  every  night, 
and  take  the  key  to  the  kitchen,  which  was  in 
range  of  the  front  of  the  house,  and  about  a 
hundred  yards  off.  Sometimes  Moses  indulged  in  a 
morning  nap.  The  parson  would  hoist  his  window, 
and  put  his  head  out  and  cry,  "Marses!  0  Marses! 
The  devil's  in  him.  God  forgive  me!"  Whenever 
he  got  out  of  temper,  or  spoke  as  he  thought  unad- 
visedly, he  would  wind  up  with  the  amend,  "God 
forgive  me!"  He  used  to  keep  his  head  pomatumed 
and  powdered,  and  the  locks  on  his  forehead  and 
temples  rolled  up  in  yellow  paper  all  the  week. 
He  removed  the  paper  on  the  Sabbath,  and  a  hand- 
some roll  of  hair  half  surrounded  his  face.  Although 
he  had  considerable  Scotch  brogue,  he  was  the  best 
reader  I  ever  heard.  In  after  years  he  married. 
Once  when  very  ill  he  sent .  a  written  request  for 
the  Methodist  Church  to"  pray  for  him,  when  some 
leading  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  won- 
dered why. he  had  not  sent  a  similar  request  to 
them;  he  said  he  did  not  intend  to  hurt  their  feel- 
ings, but  the  Methodists  were  nearer  of  kin,  and  he 
had  great  confidence  in  their  prayers.  Under  the 
superintendence  of  the  pious  Bishop  Moore  he  be- 
came more  and  more  pious;  lived  till  he  was  over 
ninety  years  of  age;  and  we  trust  he  is  now  in 
heaven.  My  father,  being  a  classical  man  himself, 
intended  to  give  a  polished  education  to  his  children. 
My  oldest  brother  was  transferred  from  this  school 
to  Washington  College,  where,  in  due  time,  he  hon- 


36  THE    HELM. 

orably  graduated.  We  were  following  suit,  when, 
as  we  will  presently  show,  the  sun  of  our  family 
prosperity  went  down. 

My  father  moved  his  family  from  Maryland  while 
I  was  an  infant,  and  settled  in  Petersburg,  in  Vir- 
ginia. I  loved  Petersburg  in  childhood — I  love  it 
still.  Sweet  in  my  memory  are  my  morning  walks 
on  the  banks  of  the  meandering  Appomattox.  I 
loved  to  sit  on  the  rocky  cliffs,  where  honeysuckles 
creep  and  woodbines  flaunt,  listening  to  the  mur- 
murings  of  the  falls — music  that  might  lull  to  sleep, 
even  the  head  that  wears  a  crown.  I  have  traveled 
far  and  near,  on  field  and  flood,  but  never  saw  any 
population  so  beautiful — male  and  female — as  the 
natives  of  that  town,  as  then  impressed  on  my 
heart.  About  the  breaking  out  of  the  Southern 
rebellion  I  read  in  a  paper,  that  a  professed  minis- 
ter of  God  undertook  to  rail  against  the  Union  in  a 
congregation  in  that  town,  when  some  of  the  elders 
retired;  this  made  him  more  furious,  when  the  con- 
gregation began  to  move,  and  as  some  passed  out, 
they  paused  on  the  threshold,  and  looking  indignantly 
back,  said,  "Treason!  treason!"  I  laid  the  paper 
down  and  wept,  and  thought,  "  0,  Petersburg !  patri- 
otic Petersburg,  surely  it  will  take  an  iron  cable  to 
drag  thee  from  the  Union !"  My  father  was  among 
the  first  merchants  who  opened  stores — wholesale 
and  retail — in  that  town,  and  many  of  the  country 
merchants  of  North  Carolina  were  his  customers; 
his  business  was  fair  and  flourishing,  and  we  were 


CHILDHOOD.  37 

a  happy  family.  We  learned  by  tradition  that 
Petersburg  had  been  a  wicked  place,  but  was 
getting  better. 

In  my  remembrance  it  had  several  special  attrac- 
tions. 1.  The  Spring  and  Fall  races.  All  respect- 
able ladies,  who  were  not  religious,  attended  in 
their  chariots,  often  making  a  procession  about  a 
mile  in  length;  and  they  engaged  in  all  the  jockey- 
talk  and  excitement  of  the  turf — betting  on  the 
black  gelding  or  Wilkin's  gray.  2.  Periodical  balls 
through  the  Winter  were  occasions  of  great  social 
glee,  and  considered  indispensable  to  health,  al- 
though some  of  the  old  doctors  occasionally  whis- 
pered that  they  cost  annually  two  or  three  human 
sacrifices.  3.  Gander-pulling  and  cock-fighting  were 
precious  amusements  of  the  gentlemen  —  between 
meals.  4.  Feasting  on  maple  biscuit  and  wine  at 
funerals.  This  was  a  custom  that  could  not  be  dis- 
pensed with  without  drawing  down  heavy  reflections 
on  the  mourners. 

The  Methodist  preacher  came  along,  and  he 
doubtless  felt  as  Paul  did  when  he  first  camei  to 
Athens.  He  began  with  the  funerals.  After  wind- 
ing up  their  feelings  to  extreme  tension,  he  would 
turn  his  eyes  to  the  sideboard,  and  begin  to  descant 
on  the  decanter  and  cake,  showing  how  inappropri- 
ate they  were  to  the  house  of  mourning,  and  he 
would  beg  them,  if  they  saw  fit  to  honor  him  with 
the  solemn  duty  of  preaching  over  their  friends, 
that  they  would  abandon  the  revolting  practice. 


38  THE    HELM. 

This  sore  was  soon  healed.  He  was  a  doctor  of  the 
healing,  and  not  of  the  dissecting  practice. 

As  for  the  ball,  the  race,  and  other  iniquitous 
frolics,  the  Methodist  preacher,  in  succession,  con- 
sidered them  as  anvils  on  which  the  drumsticks 
ecclesiastical  might  play  perpetually.  The  attend- 
ance on  the  races  declined  annually,  till  a  decent 
woman  could  not  be  found  on  the  ground.  The 
ladies  anchored  their  attractions  at  home,  and  their 
lords  were  kept  to  their  moorings,  and  they  found 
it  profitable  for  this  life  at  least.  The  balls  became 
few  and  far  between,  and  the  gander-pulling  sunk 
into  oblivion  with  a  hiss;  as  for  the  cock-fighting, 
it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  negroes.  It  was  not 
unusual  to  see  a  darkey,  on  Sabbath  morn,  passing 
with  hasty  strides  through  the  streets,  with  some- 
thing wrapped  up  in  a  striped  cotton  handkerchief, 
under  his  arm.  On  drawing  nigh  might  be  seen 
two  little  bright  eyes,  under  a  splendid  comb,  stick- 
ing out  at  one  end,  and  shining  spurs  at  the  other; 
and  Sambo's  face  would  be  illuminated  with  an 
arch  smile,  as  much  as  to  say,  "You  all  know  it  is 
a  rooster,  and  white  folks  may  come  if  they  will 
behave."  This  reformation  was  accorded  to  evan- 
gelical preaching  in  the  pulpit,  and  right-living  in 
the  Church,  imperceptibly  and  gradually  affecting 
public  opinion. 

We  can  hardly  hope  that  that  community,  during 
the  last  forty  years,  have  gone  on  to  perfection. 
Though  our  ministers  preach  the  system  of  salva- 


CHILDHOOD.  39 

tion  in  this  day  as  clear  as  it  was  dispensed  in  the 
apostolic  age,  as  we  suppose,  yet  they  do  not  keep 
up  an  unremitting  fire  on  the  devil  and  all  his 
works,  as  they  once  did;  nor  is  the  discipline 
administered  as  scrupulously.  We  are  not  croak- 
ing. We  know  that  circumstances  have  materially 
changed.  The  enemy's  batteries  are  closer  masked, 
and  his  bullets  are  sugar-coated.  In  the  progress 
of  things  fairs  have  been  gotten  up  with  the  pro- 
fessed, and  may  be  sincere,  purpose  of  improving 
agriculture,  etc.  Many  good  men  have  attended 
them  for  laudable  purposes.  Before  they  get  back 
they  see  what  they  did  not  go  to  see- — races  as 
genuine  as  those  which  once  cost  professors  their 
membership.  They  hear  African  ditties  and  conju- 
mingoes  sung  by  feigned  —  and  not  very  much 
feigned — negroes ;  and  sometimes  they  witness  a  stag- 
dance,  and  make  their  bow  to  the  big  woman  of 
Ohio.  But  many  are  falling  off  by  the  force  of  com- 
mon-sense. They  find,  as  it  regards  the  inventions 
and  machinery  exhibited  at  the  fair,  their  intrinsic 
merit  is  their  highest  premium,  because  it  will  in- 
troduce them  to  the  factory  or  farm,  where  we  may 
see  their  applications  in  all  their  practical  excel- 
lency. As  for  the  trained  horses  and  fat  cattle,  it 
has  been  well  discovered  that  the  farms — if  they 
have  any — of  those  who  have  carried  the  prizes, 
present  a  dreary  prospect  at  home  —  as  dreary  as 
the  vision  of  Pharaoh,  only  reversed.  In  his  dream 
the  seven  lean  kine  devoured  the  seven  fat  ones;  in 


40  THE    HELM. 

the  last  case  one  fat  calf  eats  up  the  whole  planta- 
tion, and  the  owner  is  something  leaner,  notwith- 
standing the  premium.  The  forced  vegetables  are 
almost  poisonous,  and  a  horse,  who  possesses  more 
sense  than  we  do — the  discernment  of  invisibili- 
ties— would  snort  over  them.  So  the  inhabitants 
of  a  great  city  drank  delicious  draughts  at  their 
hydrants,  and  smacked  their  lips,  for  years;  but 
when  they  overhauled  their  reservoir,  they  found  it 
full  of  corruption  and  dead  men's  bones. 

It  is  necessary  to  this  work  that  its  readers 
should  see  my  early  surroundings.  My  home  was 
in  the  heart  of  slavery;  and  this,  I  suppose,  has 
given  me  a  tender  feeling  for  the  African  race; 
and  this  feeling  abides  with  those  in  the  free  States 
who  have  been  raised  in  the  South.  The  African 
knows  this,  and  when  he  comes  among  us  to  raise 
money  to  buy  a  wife  or  child,  he  knows  where  to 
go.  This  can  not  be  otherwise.  Parents  in  the 
South  can  not  lay  their  fences  so  high  as  to  sep- 
arate entirely  the  children  of  the  two  classes.  We 
went  chincapin  hunting  together,  fishing  together, 
in  some  branch  which  was  dry  for  one-half  of  the 
year,  and  if  we  got  three  or  four  nibbles,  we  would 
fish  till  sundown.  When  we  got  tired  at  noon,  we 
would  lie  down  on  the  bank,  packed  away  like  a 
layer  of  herrings.  It  is  no  wonder  we  caught  their 
brogue.  In  after  years,  while  I  was  preaching  a 
funeral  discourse,  a  strange  minister  who  had  been 
raised  in  Kentucky,  came  to  the  door,  and  on  ac- 


C.HILDHOOD.  41 

count  of  the  press,  stood  without  where  he  could 
not  see  me.  He  told  me  afterward  that  he  had 
heard  only  a  few  sentences,  when  he  said  in  him- 
self, "That  fellow  has  cracked  many  a  corn-dodger." 
But  now  let  me  say,  that  there  was  very  little  said 
about  the  institution,  especially  before  children;  yet, 
whether  it  was  by  intuition,  or  inspiration,  or  what 
not,  I  was,  while  a  white-haired  boy,  bitterly  op- 
posed to  slavery.  In  the  large  towns,  their  condi- 
tion is — comparatively — comfortable.  The  slaves 
wear,  in  their  turn,  the  clothes  of  their  owners,  and 
sometimes  scarcely  soiled.  This  is  often  econom- 
ical, and  the  masters  escape  the  charge  of  their 
garments  being  motheaten.  In  a  common  family, 
there  could  be  little  saved  by  putting  servants  under 
a  different  regimen;  so  they  eat  the  same  food, 
tastefully  culled,  of  course,  but  with  this  advant- 
age— "The  nearer  the  bone,  the  sweeter  the  meat." 
Dainties  are  excepted.  In  some  kitchens  they  oc- 
casionally live  better  than  they  do  in  the  great 
house,  because  they  sometimes  add  a  'possum,  or 
fresh  fish,  or  other  rarities,  that  are  overlooked  by 
white  folks.  We  used  sometimes  to  have  high  life 
below  stairs.  It  was  there  that  I  first  realized  how 
a  drunkard  felt,  by  getting  quite  boosy  on  egg- 
nog,  scalding  hot.  Still,  as  Sterne  says,  "Disguise 
thyself  as  thou  wilt,  0  slavery,  still  thou  art  a  bit- 
ter draught!"  Even  in  our  town,  we  had  occa- 
sional exhibitions  of  its  ugliness.  While  a  little 

boy,  in  passing  by  a  lot  that  was  highly  fenced 

4 


42  THE    HELM. 

with  boards,  I  heard  an  unusual  groaning  within. 
My  curiosity  led  me  to  hunt  a  hole,  that  I  might 
see  what  was  going  on  within.  I  saw  a  negro 
hoisted  up,  so  that  his  feet  swung  clear  of  the 
ground,  by  a  rope  fastened  to  his  wrists,  and  pass- 
ing over  a  kind  of  gallows.  This  was  held  by  a 
fellow-servant,  while  a  white  man  was  peeling  his 
back  with  a  cowhide.  The  skin  would  sometimes 
be  stripped  off  like  ribbons.  The  tyrant  would 
threaten  to  lay  on  in  proportion  to  the  noise  he 
made,  and  continued  the  cruel  chastisement  till  en- 
tirely exhausted.  He  then  took  down  his  victim, 
and  by  the  forced  assistance  of  the  other  slave, 
stretched  him  on  the  tail  of  a  dray,  with  his  face 
down,  and  brought  from  the  kitchen  a'  tin-cup  of 
melted  tallow  and  poured  it  on  his  wounds.  This 
seemed  to  be  the  most  excruciating  part  of  the 
whole  process.  My  young  bosom  was  filled  with 
indignation  and  wrath,  supreme.  In  after  years, 
while  reading  about  Moses,  when  he  saw  an  Egyp- 
tian smiting  an  Israelite,  and  where  it  is  said,  "And 
he  looked  this  way  and  that  way,  and  when  he  saw 
that  there  was  no  man,  he  slew  the  Egyptian,  and 
hid  him  in  the  sand,"  I  thought  I  understood  how 
Moses  felt.  When  I  saw  this  act  of  cruelty,  I  felt 
if  I  could  secretly  dispose  of  that  scoundrel  without 
exposing  myself  to  the  law,  I  would  be  doing  God 
an  acceptable  service. 

But  I  might   mention  a  case   that  came  much 
nearer  home  than   this.     My  father,  for  about  fif- 


CHILDHOOD.  43 

teen  or  twenty  years,  hired  almost  a  whole  family 
of  slaves.  They  were  of  sterling  integrity,  and 
some  of  them  religious.  Aunt  Milly,  the  matron 
of  this  colored  family,  was  a  dark  mulatto,  and  a 
very  pious  Baptist.  She  had  two  sons  besides  her 
children  in  our  family,  who  were  blacksmiths.  One 
of  them  came  in  one  day  apparently  in  great  an- 
guish, and  told  his  mother  that  his  wife's  master 
had  sold  her  and  the  children  to  a  Georgia  negro- 
buyer,  and  that  they  would  pass  in  the  afternoon 
by  our  big  gate,  which  was  on  the  Carolina  road. 
When  I  heard  this  I  became  deeply  moved,  and  re- 
solved in  my  mind  to  be  there.  When  I  arrived, 
I  found  Aunt  Milly  and  her  son  already  there. 
They  looked  with  painful  suspense  for  some  time 
down  the  road.  Presently  the  sorrowful  band  was 
seen  advancing  with  unwilling  tread.  Several  men 
were  handcuffed — two  and  two.  The  women  and 
children  were -not  bound.  As  they  came  up,  Will 
and  his  wife  rushed  into  the  last  sad  embrace.  The 
little  children  grasped  his  pantaloons.  The  grand- 
mother's eyes  flashed  like  diamonds,  from  earth  to 
heaven,  from  heaven  to  earth.  Only  two  or  three 
ox  drops  ran  down  her  cheeks — it  was  agony  beyond 
tears.  I  alone  was  allowed  this  luxury,  and  I  al- 
most doubled  myself  down  to  the  earth,  and  wept 
as  if  my  little  heart  would  burst.  Many  of  our 
white  acquaintances  who  knew  the  worth  and  sensi- 
bility of  that  colored  family,  sympathized  with  them. 
The  negro-trader  checked  his  horse  awhile,  and 


44  THE     HELM. 

seemed  to  respect  this  scene  of  hopeless  sorrow, 
but  after  a  while  drove  them  on.  The  wife  and 
children  cast  many  a  longing  look  behind.  The 
husband  stood  like  a  marble  monument  of  woe,  till 
a  turn  in  the  road  separated  husband  and  wife, 
parent  and  children  forever.  Many  of  our  citizens 
used  to  feel  deeply  on  such  occasions,  but  they 
seemed  to  consider  them  as  necessary  outrages  con- 
nected with  an  institution  that  appeared  to  be  as 
firmly  settled  as  the  pillars  of  heaven. 

We  never  felt  a  sense  of  comfortable  security 
while  living  in  that  beautiful  town.  Sometimes  re- 
ports of  intended  insurrections  would  send  a  thrill 
of  fear  through  every  family.  One  time  a  boy  came 
up  where  we  were  playing  near  the  school,  with 
dismayed  visage,  and  said,  "Boys,  as  I  was  coming 
to  school,  a  negro  looked  at  me  and  said,  'Ah,  my 
lad,  you  look  white  and  rosy  now,  but  in  a  few 
days  your  face  will  be  as  black  as  my  hand.'  " 
Then  we  gathered  up  our  playthings,  and  entering 
into  serious  squads,  began  to  rehearse  all  the  latest 
symptoms  of  an  outbreak  that  we  could  drum  up 
in  our  memory.  When  the  school  broke  the  intel- 
ligence was  carried  to  every  home. 

Sometimes  reports  would  be  spread  which  would 
be  found  utterly  false.  Still  they  would  create  un- 
easiness for  the  time  being.  The  most  formidable 
disturbance  which  we  ever  had  was  the  meditated 
insurrection  of  Gabriel — General  Gabriel,  as  some 
called  him  by  way  of  derision.  The  plan  was  to 


CHILDHOOD.  46 

commence  at  Richmond,  in  the  most  sleepy  watch 
of  the  night;  but  there  was  to  be  a  general  uprising 
through  the  country.  They  were  to  station  two 
men  at  the  door  of  every  house,  fire  the  city  in  two 
places,  and  then  raise  the  all-exciting  cry — "fire! 
fire!"  As  the  citizens  would  rush  out  with  their 
fire-buckets,  as  they  usually  did  in  such  alarms, 
they  were  to  cut  them  down.  Richmond  taken, 
and  being  supplied  with  more  effective  arms,  they 
were  to  spread  their  devastations  throughout  the 
State.  It  was  said  that  they  intended  to  destroy 
'also  the  colored  women,  and  to  supply  their  place 
with  white  ladies.  The  leaders,  in  order  to  forestall 
any  subsequent  misunderstanding,  had  agreed  on 
their  future  partners,  chosen  from  among  the  most 
celebrated  beauties  of  the  land.  Scythe-blades  and 
reap-hooks  were  secretly  converted  into  war  instru- 
ments, and  the  blacksmiths  in  the  country,  who 
generally  worked  late  in  the  night,  had  made  a 
considerable  number  of  pikes,  which  could  in  a  few 
moments  be  attached  to  staffs. 

The  secret  was  faithfully  kept  till  the  very  eve 
of  its  intended  accomplishment.  There  was  a  gen- 
tleman in  the  country,  residing  alone  on  his  planta- 
tion. He  had  a  boy  who  had  been  raised  as  a  pet 
negro.  This  boy  came  into  his  chamber,  and  roused 
him  up  from  his  sleep.  "Master!  master!"  said  he, 
"I  have  brought  your  horse  out,  and  fastened  him 
to  the  gate.  Arise  and  fly  for  your  life!" 

"Why?  what's  the  matter?" 


46  THE    HELM. 

"The  negroes  have  been  meeting  several  nights 
at  their  quarters.  I  have  hung  around,  listening 
till  I  have  found  out  that  they  intend  this  night  to 
march  to  Richmond,  and  kill  all  the  white  people. 
Fly  for  your  life,  master!" 

He  soon  sprang  on  his  horse,  and  fled.  About 
this  time  a  dismal  cloud  covered  the  heavens,  send- 
ing forth  almost  incessant  lightning.  As  he  rode 
down  the  lane,  by  the  bright  flashes  above  he  could 
see  the  negroes,  in  almost  every  field,  converging 
toward  the  quarters.  He  arrived  at  the  city, 
aroused  up  the  authorities,  and  immediately  the 
military  were  turned  out,  and  the  city  under  arms. 
The  insurgents  had  not  yet  congregated,  for  they 
were  waiting  forces  from  the  country;  but  squads 
of  insurrectionists  were  arrested,  and  the  pro- 
gramme fully  exposed.  In  the  mean  time,  the  storm 
that  had  been  threatening  so  long  fell  with  awful 
devastation  on  the  earth.  Instead  of  raining  it 
poured  in  mighty  floods.  In  Petersburg,  twenty- 
five  miles  off,  the  storm  leveled  or  broke  off  nearly 
all  the  shade-trees;  an  arch  which  ran  under  Bol- 
ingbrooke-street,  which  was  high  enough  for  a  man 
to  stand  under,  was  insufficient  to  carry  off  the 
flood,  and  it  burst  across  the  street.  We  supposed 
every  family  was  up,  for  every  house  was  lighted. 
I  remember  my  father  said,  "Betsey,  God  is  in 
this  storm,  as  horrible  as  it  is — it  is  supernatural. 
Mark  me!  this  storm  is  salvation."  So  it  was,  and 
so  I  have  ever  believed.  God  had  mercy  on  white 


CHILDHOOD.  47 

and  black.  If  the  insurrection  had  commenced 
there  might  have  been  a  great  slaughter  of  the 
whites,  but  it  would  have  resulted  in  an  awful 
destruction  of  the  blacks;  for  the  other  States  would 
have  sent  their  desolating  forces  upon  them.  The 
country  negroes  were  bending  their  way  to  the  city 
when  the  storm  broke  loose,  but  they  found  every 
branch  with  their  bottoms  overflowed.  Here  some 
said,  "You  can  see  plainly  the  hand  of  God  is 
against  us."  Others  charged  them  with  cowardice, 
and  after  having  a  general  "knock  down  and  drag 
out,"  it  was — every  man  to  his  cabin.  For  several 
days  the  gallows  in  Richmond  was  in  constant  serv- 
ice, till  the  most  humane  said  it  is  enough  —  stay 
your  hands.  Solomon,  the  brother  of  Gabriel,  while 
standing  under  the  gallows,  looked  around  on  the 
multitude,  and  defiantly  said,  "  Well,  you  may  hang 
Solomon,  but  let  me  tell  you  there  are  more  Solo- 
mons in  Old  ' Firginia.'" 

Gabriel  could  not  be  found;  but  a  high  reward 
was  offered  for  him.  It  seems  he  had  boarded  one 
of  the  river  crafts  commanded  by  a  colored  man, 
and  fled  to  Norfolk,  with  an  intention  to  put  to  sea 
as  soon  as  arrangements  could  be  made.  The  vessel 
lay  at  the  wharf.  After  being  confined  some  days 
to  his  contracted  berth,  he  thought  he  would,  in 
the  twilight  hour,  put  his  head  up  the  companion- 
way,  and  breathe  for  a  while  a  purer  air.  A  little 
black  boy,  who  had  been  acquainted  with  him  in 
Richmond,  in  the  innocence  of  his  heart  exclaimed: 


48  T  H  E    H  E  L  M  . 

"How-dy,  Uncle  Gabriel?  when  did  you  leave  Rich- 
mond?" Fatal  salutation!  Some  white  men,  who 
were  standing  by,  rushed  on  board  and  seized  him. 
His  baggage  was  overhauled.  He  had  a  fine  suit 
of  uniform,  splendid  epaulets,  and  a  costly  sword. 
He  was  carried  to  Richmond,  and  thrown  into 
prison.  Some  gentlemen,  moved  by  curiosity,  be- 
gan to  catechise  him,  but  drawing  himself  up  with 
a  magisterial  air,  he  said,  "I  will  answer  no  imper- 
tinent questions,  but  will  answer  at  the  bar  of  my 
country."  Every  thing  that  might  be  made  harm- 
ful was  taken  from  his  cell,  but  he  found  a  large, 
rusty,  crooked  nail.  This  he  swallowed  with  an 
intention  of  avoiding  the  gallows,  but  it  became 
immovably  fixed  in  his  throat,  and  in  this  condition 
he  was  hanged.  Years  after  this  I  heard  an  old 
negro  playing  on  a  bandore  a  lengthy  song  descrip- 
tive of  the  raid  of  General  Gabriel.  On  a  slight 
hearing,  it  seemed  to  be  a  burlesque  on  the  defeat; 
but  there  were  some  sentiments  in  pensive  air  that 
drew  tears  from  the  African  eye.  No  foot  of  power 
can  crush  national  songs — even  if  they  are  African. 
Many  a  time,  while  a  boy,  I  have  stopped  to  hear 
the  darkies,  while  working  on  the  roads,  sing — 

"  Billy  Gilliam  kill  a  nigger ; 

0,  boys !  ye  'most  done  ? 
He  knock  him  down,  and  den  he  stomp  him ; 

0,  boys!  ye  'most  done? 
He  drag  him  down  to  Sandy  Bottom ; 

0,  boys!  ye  'most  done? 
And  den  he  swear  he  never  toch  him ; 

0,  boya !  ye  'most  done  ?" 


CHILDHOOD.  49 

The  relations  of  Billy  Gilliam  often  had  to  drive 
their  chariots  under  such  serenading,  and  look  as 
pleasant  as  they  could. 

5 


50  THEHELM. 


III. 

SEA-LIFE. 

MY  father,  having  dissolved  partnership  with  a 
firm  in  Philadelphia,  was  advised  by  some  of  his 
best  friends  to  form  a  connection  with  two  French 
gentlemen,  who  were  in  a  large  grocery  business. 
These  gentlemen  were  brothers,  and  were  as  dis- 
tinct in  their  characters  as  any  two  men  could  be. 
Alexander,  the  elder,  was  very  plain,  and  of  an 
unusually-serious  cast.  He  had  emigrated  with  his 
father  to  the  western  wilds ;  and  one  morning,  when 
he  was  seated  at  the  breakfast-table,  an  Indian 
chief  stepped  behind  his  father,  and  drove  a  toma- 
hawk into  his  skull.  Alexander  fled,  and  with 
much  difficulty  made  his  escape;  but  it  was  said 
he  never  smiled  again.  Francis  had  been  brought 
up  in  the  fashions  and  amusements  of  France.  He 
was  light  and  frivolous,  a  dandy  who  ran  into  the 
most  ridiculous  extreme  of  fashion.  The  business 
of  the  house  was  very  promising.  They  sent  a 
valuable  cargo  to  France,  and  were  looking  for 
a  rich  return  of  merchandise.  Francis  was  sent 
out  as  supercargo,  and  was  charged  to  insure  the 
goods.  This  he  did  not  do — giving,  afterward,  the 
simple  apology,  that,  as  he  was  coming  back  in  the 


SEA-LIFE.  51 

ship,  he  thought  if  the  ship  was  lost  he  would  be 
lost,  and  all  would  go  together.  This,  however, 
was  not  the  case.  The  ship  Neptune,  returning,  as 
it  was  said,  with  the  richest  cargo  which  had  left 
that  season,  sprung  a  bad  leak.  With  all  hands 
employed  at  the  pumps  it  still  gained  on  them. 
When  all  hope  had  nearly  fled,  a  sail  hove  in  sight, 
but  cruelly  passed,  and  left  her  with  all  her  signals 
of  distress  flying.  Now  they  sank  down  in  despair; 
the  Protestants  broke  out  in  prayer,  the  Roman 
Catholic  ladies  began  to  count  their  beads,  kiss 
their  crosses,  and  to  call  on  the  blessed  Mary. 
There  were  many  passengers.  Just  then  another 
sail  appeared;  hope  revived;  the  pumps  were  again 
manned.  Those  who  came  to  the  rescue  had  barely 
time  to  transfer  the  crew  and  passengers,  without 
baggage,  when  the  old  Neptune  went  down.  I  well 
remember  the  announcement  of  this  misfortune  to 
my  mother.  Late  one  afternoon,  Aunt  Milly,  whom 
we  have  already  introduced  as  the  matron  of  the 
kitchen,  stood  in  the  door,  with  shawl  and  bonnet 
on,  and  said: 

"Mistiss,  I  thought  I  would  step  in  and  ask  you 
if  you  had  heard  any  thing  about  this  bad  news." 

"What  bad  news,  Milly?  0,  do  tell  me!  speak 
quick  !  Is  my  husband  dead?" 

"0  no,  mistiss!" 

"What  then — is  my  son  Edwin?" 

He  was  from  home. 

"  0    no,    mistiss,    it    is    nothing    like    that.      I 


52  THEHELM. 

thought  I  would  tell  you  how,  as  I  was  coming  up 
from  town,  I  met  Mr.  Tucker's  boy,  and  he  asked 
me  if  I  had  heard  of  master's  bad  luck " 

"0,  Milly,  is  he  dangerously  hurt?" 

"No,  ma'am.  But  he  said  the  ship  that  was 
fetching  all  his  goods  across  the  sea  is  gone  to  the 
bottom — and  it 's  printed  in  the  papers." 

"0,  Milly!  is  that  all— is  that  all?  0,  I  am  so 
relieved!  I  have  my  husband  and  my  children 
yet,  thank  God!  Is  that  all?" 

"Indeed,  ma'am,  I  thought  that  was  enough; 
the  ship  and  all  dem  fine  goods  gone  to  de  bot- 
tom!" 

In  the  evening  my  father  approached  the  house 
with  slow  and  measured  steps.  My  mother  was 
watching  at  the  door,  and  with  a  smiling  face  said, 
"  Come  on ;  I  have  heard  all.  We  are  all  here. 
We  have  resources  within  ourselves,  and  God  will 
help  us."  And  she  so  cheered  him  up,  that  he 
could  give  a  deliberate  account  of  the  shipwreck, 
and  all  that  had  transpired.  But  this  was  only  the 
beginning  of  the  calamity.  The  brothers  agreed  to 
turn  over  to  him  the  stock  on  hand,  and  an  interest 
which  they  could  command  in  Norfolk,  to  the 
amount  of  several  thousand  dollars,  if  he  would 
take  upon  him  the  outstanding  credits  and  debts. 
He  felt  he  could  at  least  weather  the  point  on  such 
terms.  The  elder  brother  left  at  once  the  country 
where  he  had  drank  so  deeply  of  sorrow.  Francis 
went  down  to  Norfolk  to  carry  out  the  contract, 


SEA-LIFE.  53 

but  was  heard  of  no  more.  My  father  buffeted  the 
adverse  tide  awhile,  but  finally  broke — honorably 
broke — giving  up  all,  without  mental  or  pecuniary 
reservation.  Many  who  were  his  friends  in  pros- 
perity stood  by  the  family  to  the  last.  My  oldest 
brother  completed  his  study  of  the  law,  under  Mr. 
Wirt;  and  my  decision  was  the  sea,  with  an  inten- 
tion to  become  a  sea-captain.  This  was  common  in 
that  section  of  the  country.  There  were  few  fami- 
lies who  had  not  a  representative  on  the  seas.  I 
laid  by  all  other  studies,  and  betook  myself  to  the 
acquisition  of  navigation.  I  soon  possessed  a  good 
understanding  of  it  theoretically.  The  gentleman 
under  whom  I  agreed  to  sail  did  not  require  indent- 
ures, but  said  he  did  not  wish  to  retain  me  a  mo- 
ment after  I  might  become  dissatisfied.  It  was  my 
intention  not  to  make  use  of  names  in  this  work, 
unless  absolutely  necessary.  I  think  it  is  wrong 
in  an  autobiography.  Although  many  with  whom 
my  early  history  is  connected  are  no  more,  yet  they 
may  have  relations  and  connections  still  living,  and 
they  might  not  wish  to  see  their  names  bandied 
about.  Capt.  C.,  or  rather  ex-Capt.  C.  was  my  tem- 
porary master.  He  had  made  a  fortune  on  the  seas, 
and  now  owned  the  beautiful  ship  "  Sheffield."  He 
had  for  years  ceased  to  command,  and  always  em- 
ployed a  captain  proper  to  take  charge.  He  would 
go  as  supercargo  when  there  was  a  cargo,  and  when 
there  was  none,  a  gentleman  at  large.  He  was 
a  great  beau  on  land — and  on  sea  when  ladies 


54  THE    HELM. 

were  about — though  he  was  a  confirmed  bachelor, 
and  tidy  but  genteel  in  his  dress.  The  front  and 
top  of  his  head  was  bald,  and  slick  as  a  peeled 
onion.  His  hair,  behind,  was  made  up  in  a  cue 
about  as  big  as  a  pig's  tail,  •with  an  abundance  of 
pomatum  and  powder,  which  was  daily  dressed  by 
black  Tom  the  steward.  When  I  would  follow  him 
to  the  naval  store  for  some  article,  he*would  run 
me  breathless;  but  when  ladies  were  promenading 
on  either  side  of  the  street,  I  would  then  gain  on 
him;  for  he  would  stop  and  make  a  bow — an  old- 
time  bow.  He  would  take  his  hat  off  his  head, 
swing  it  down  by  his  side,  and  give  a  lordly  bend 
for  every  lady  in  the  group,  while  his  head  would 
shine  in  the  sun  like  a  looking-glass;  and  then  he 
would  go  on  his  way,  talking  to  himself,  but  never 
distinctly  enough  for  me  to  get  into  his  secrets.  It 
was  to  this  man,  whom  I  have  described  in  advance, 
that  I  became  a  nominal  apprentice. 

Having  rigged  myself  off,  with  jacket  and  trow- 
sers,  I  proceeded  down  to  the  ship,  about  twelve 
miles  distant,  accompanied  by  a  servant  who  was 
to  bring  the  horses  back.  Arriving  at  the  brink 
of  a  high  hill  overlooking  the  shipping,  I  suddenly 
stopped  in  amazement.  I  had  never  seen  such  a 
wide-spread  sheet  of  water  as  the  James  Kiver  pre- 
sented at  that  point.  It  was  a  sprinkling  and  windy 
day,  and  the  water  was  considerably  ruffled.  Here 
I  felt  my  faith  giving  way;  but  then  I  thought,  if 
you  falter  at  this,  what  will  you  do  in  the  swellings 


•  SEA-LIFE.  55 

of  the  ocean?  Ambition  came  to  my  aid,  and  I 
went  on  board.  The  men  were  glad  that  a  boy 
had  dropped  among  them,  because  he  would  do 
many  small  jobs  that  they  were  glad  to  get  rid  of; 
so  I  became  a  great  favorite. 

After  we  had  passed  the  Capes,  I  can  not  de- 
scribe with  what  extreme  anxiety  I  watched  the 
dim  continent,  till  the  last  streak  of  land  disap- 
peared. The  sheep  and  pigs  that  had  been  placed 
under  my  province  were  stowed  away  in  the  long- 
boat, amidships,  with  the  pinnace  capsized  over 
them  for  a  shelter,  and  all  strongly  lashed.  I  saw 
the  sheep  putting  out  their  heads  between  the  boats, 
and  ranging  with  their  eyes  the  horizon,  as  though 
to  catch  the  sight  of  one  more  verdant  hill,  or 
flowery  valley;  and  then  they  would  bleat  most 
piteously.  My  whole  mind  was  at  once  in  partner- 
ship and  sympathy  with  their  sorrow,  and  I  said 
within  myself,  "What  a  strange  and  unnatural  per- 
version of  things!"  But  I  had  not  much  leisure  to 
philosophize,  for  the  sea  began  to  swell  more  freely, 
and  all  at  once  a  strange  class  of  feelings  over- 
whelmed me.  A  deadly  sickness  which  had  no  pro- 
totype aside  of  blue  water,  unless  it  'be  excessive 
drunkenness,  struck  me,  and  I  became  the  merrily 
observed  of  all  observers.  The  whole  world  became 
topsy-turvy,  and  an  utter  carelessness  of  life  and 
death  possessed  me.  A  perpetual  retching,  with- 
out a  possibility  of  discharging  my  stomach,  was 
my  enduring  torment.  An  alien  from  all  human 


56  THE    HELM. 

sympathy,  for  the  whole  crew  rejoiced,  I  had  to 
endure  as  best  I  could, 

"  When  my  sorrows  they  saw,  and  smiled  at  the  tears  which  I  shed !" 

Indeed,  they  labored  to  augment  my  affliction.  I 
saw  an  old  salt  peeping  round  the  foremast,  and 
beckoning  to  me.  I  hastened  to  stagger  toward 
him,  for  it  was  the  only  phiz  that  bore  marks  of 
commiseration.  "My  dear  boy,"  said  he,  "you  need 
not  endure  this  nasty  complaint  for  five  minutes. 
I  know  a  sovereign  remedy." 

"0,  tell  me  what  it  is,  do!" 

"Well,  if  you  will  swallow  this  fat  gob  of  pork, 
which  is  tied  to  this  string,  I  will  jerk  it  right  up 
again,  and  you  will  be  cured  in  a  moment."  The 
very  idea  of  this  operation  increased  my  distress, 
and  multiplied  my  gagging.  When  I  had  suffered 
a  few  days,  the  steward  brought  up  from  the  cabin 
a  keg  which  had  contained  cherry-bounce,  and 
wished  me  to  get  the  cherries  out  of  the  bung- 
hole,  and  give  them  to  the  pigs.  The  cherries 
looked  pretty,  and  I  thought  I  would  taste  them 
and  see  if  they  were  fit  for  pigs.  The  first  one 
brought  back  a  little  animation  to  my  pallet,  and 
I  went  on  for  quantity,  till  I  was  fearful  of  addling 
the  remnant  of  brains  that  seemed  to  be  left.  Sud- 
denly my  stomach  took  a  free  somerset,  and  I  had 
a  profuse  liberation.  In  a  few  days  I  was  good  for 
full  allowance  of  fat  pork  and  ship  biscuit.  The 
captain  would  not  let  me  be  sent  aloft  during  my 


SEA-LIFE.  57 

seasickness,  and  said,  "Wait  till  he  gets  his  sea- 
legs  aboard."  But  now  I  was  sent  up  into  the 
maintop.  To  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  ships, 
we  will  say  that  the  top  is  a  platform  of  wood 
which  surrounds  the  head  of  the  mast.  The  lower 
shrouds  extend  from  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  inclin- 
ing into  the  head  of  the  lower  mast,  and  with  rat- 
lins— like  a  ladder.  When  you  get  there  you  come 
to  the  puttock-shrouds,  their  lower  ends  connecting 
with  the  lower  shrouds  close  into  the  mast;  they 
are  fastened  by  their  upper  ends  to  the  side  of  the 
rim  of  the  top,  where  they  are  in  connection  with 
the  topmast  shrouds,  giving  you  another  slant  to 
the  head  of  the  topmast.  The  intermediate  shrouds 
slant  over  your  head  about  forty-five  degrees,  till 
you  surmount  the  edge  of  the  top  and  get  hold  of 
the  topmast  shrouds;  while  climbing  them,  your 
whole  body  hangs  nearly  horizontal  with  the  deck. 
When  I  saw  men  going  up,  with  their  whole  body 
hanging  over  the  deck,  I  could  not  conceive  how 
they  could  keep  their  feet  on  the  ratlins;  and  I 
had  many  forebodings  about  my  time  to  come.  My 
time  had  now  come,  and  I  ran  up  the  lower  shrouds 
sailor-like,  for  I  had  been  celebrated  at  home  for 
my  agility.  But  when  I  looked  overhead  and  saw 
that  I  would  now  have  to  climb  the  other  way  for 
a  piece,  with  my  head  from  the  mast,  and  body 
hanging  over  the  deck,  I  trembled.  But  I  saw 
there  was  a  short  cut  through  the  center  of  the 
top,  where  the  rigging  came  down,  so  wheeled 


58  T  H  E     H  E  L  M  . 

quickly,  and  was  sliding  through  the  friendly  open- 
ing, when  a  simultaneous  shouting  arose  from  the 
deck  fore  and  aft,  "Ah!  you  lubber,  you  lubber, 
you  soldier  you!  you  are  gliding  through  lubber's 
hole,  are  you?"  I  thought  I  would  stop  that  music 
forever,  if  it  were  at  the  expense  of  my  life;  so  I 
withdrew  and  ascended  up  the  old  way.  And  hav- 
ing passed  the  Rubicon,  in  a  little  while  could  run 
over  the  rigging  like  a  squirrel. 

But  I  had  to  learn  the  bend  of  the  sailors  as  well 
as  the  rigging;  for  I  was  too  trusty  and  confiding. 
The  captain  called  me  in  the  cabin  to  bottle  off 
some  Holland  gin;  and  when  I  was  done  he  pre- 
sented me  with  a  bottle  of  the  stuff.  I  was  so 
proud  of  it  that  I  did  not  even  cover  it  with  my 
handkerchief,  as  the  worst  of  drunkards  do,  but 
carried  it,  all  sparkling  as  it  was,  to  the  forecastle, 
winking  at  the  men  as  I  passed,  and  deposited  it  in 
my  chest,  which  I  thought  was  impregnable  when 
it  was  locked;  not  understanding  at  that  time 
that  all  chest-keys  were  alike.  My  calculations 
about  my  bottle  were  very  benevolent.  I  intended, 
at  a  proper  season,  to  give  a  taste  to  every  man 
before  the  mast.  One  chilly  night  I  told  the  watch 
on  deck,  to  which  I  belonged,  that  I  would  get  out 
my  bottle  and  treat  them  all.  As  I  was  going  for- 
ward I  heard  a  little  tittering  behind,  but  it  might 
be  in  anticipation  of  a  swig. 

When  I  brought  my  bottle  up  I  took  a  consider- 
able pull  at  it  myself — when,  lo,  I  swallowed  a 


SEA-LIFE.  59 

draught  of  salt  water!  Yes,  it  was  salt,  but  truth 
compels  me  to  record  it  was  something  more  than 
salt.  Here  followed  an  uproarious  laugh  on  deck, 
and  then  came  back  a  mighty  echo  from  below;  and 
I  felt  as  if  I  did  not  care  about  owning  another 
bottle  of  gin  while  I  might  live.  The  scamps  had 
made  a  general  conspiracy  against  my  bottle. 

We  have  not  as  great  a  variety  in  the  scenery  at 
sea  as  we  have  in  traveling  on  the  land — no  tow- 
ering mountains  or  wide-spread  flowery  valleys. 
Incidents  are  few  and  far  between — still  we  have 
not  a  dull  uniformity.  The  scene  is  considerably 
varied  by  the  light  winds  that  gently  ruffle  the 
glassy  surface  to  the  driving  tempest  which  dashes 
the  swelling  billows  to  the  skies,  till  all  seems  to  be 
mingled  in  lawless  but  sublime  confusion.  Inci- 
dents seldom  occur,  but  in  proportion  to  their  scarc- 
ity is  their  all-absorbing  interest.  When  the  cry  of 
"Sail,  ho!"  is  heard  through  the  ship,  all  on  board 
are  aroused.  When  first  seen,  the  stranger  appears 
like  a  dark  speck  in  the  distant  horizon — presently 
we  raise  her  lower  sails,  then  her  hull;  as  we  near 
her  she  comes  pitching  and  rolling,  and  exposing 
half  of  her  bottom  by  fits  and  starts,  like  some  liv- 
ing monster  of  the  great  deep;  and  if  the  breeze  is 
tolerably  fresh  we  hardly  have  time  to  exchange  the 
usual  compliments — "whence  came  ye?  whither  are 
you  bound?" — when  she  is  gone,  and  we  rush  on  to 
our  destiny  to  meet  no  more. 

The  captain  seemed  much  pleased  when  he  found 


60  THE     HELM. 

I  had  studied  navigation;  and  as  he  had  a  spare 
quadrant  on  board,  he  made  me  take  the  sun  every 
day  and  keep  a  journal.  I  would  sometimes  be 
greatly  annoyed  by  an  antic  sailor,  who  would  stand 
partly  concealed  by  the  foremast  so  that  the  officers 
could  not  see  him,  while  he  could  be  seen  by  myself; 
and  he  would  raise  the  jaw-bone  of  a  hog  to  his 
eye,  and  twist  himself  about  with  the  motions  of 
the  ship,  and  carry  on  his  mockery,  while  I  would 
be  operating.  The  sailors  did  not  seem  to  like  it  so 
well  when  they  found  I  was  getting  qualified  for  the 
cabin.  One,  who  was  generally  called  growler,  said, 
"I  expect  he  will  be  a  bully  captain  some  of  these 
days,  and  kick  and  cuff  the  poor  sailors  about." 
And  then,  instead  of  looking  on  me  and  weeping,  as 
the  prophet  did  before  Hazael,  he  talked  himself 
into  a  fury,  grit  his  teeth,  and  clinched  his  fist,  and 
cursed  and  swore  what  he  would  do  with  me  if  he 
ever  fell  under  my  jurisdiction.  And  so  he  battled 
against  his  man  of  straw.  But  I  laughed  and  said, 
"No,  Bill,  you  are  wrong;  I  am  going  to  be  a  very 
good  captain  to  the  sailors;  I  mean  to  give  them 
their  allowance  of  grog  every  day,  besides  splicing 
the  main  brace  after  every  storm,  and  watch  and 
watch,  blow  high  or  blow  low."  And  thus  I  would 
talk  till  I  got  him  into  a  good  humor  again. 

The  generality  of  landsmen,  when  they  look  at  the 
rough  exterior  of  a  sea  captain,  and  consider  well 
his  defiant  carriage,  conclude  that  he  has  very  little 
of  the  milk  of  human  kindness  in  him.  So  I  thought 


SEA-LIFE.  61 

at  first  in  regard  to  my»captain,  because  he  sometimes 
made  me  shin  up  to  the  royal  mast-head — a  long, 
slender  pole,  beyond  all  rigging,  and  well  slashed 
withal  —  to  rig  pendant  halliards.  But  I  made  a 
sudden  discovery  one  day,  and  found  that  although 
his  tear-box  was  shallow,  and  his  benevolence  was 
stowed  away  deep,  and  was  not  to  be  wasted  on 
every  occasion,  yet  he  was  kind  and  feeling.  One 
day  I  was  sent  up  to  send  down  the  top-gallant  sail 
yard.  We  had  topped  the  yard,  and  I  was  standing 
in  the  topmast  shrouds,  directing  the  yard  in  its 
descent,  when  the  ship  brought  a  tremendous  lee- 
lurch  and  weather-roll,  and  the  yard  got  loose  from 
me,  and,  returning  with  a  powerful  swing,  knocked 
me  out  of  the  shrouds.  I  caught  with  one  hand  on 
a  dubious  ratlin,  and-  my  whole  body  swung  to 
leeward,  suspended  by  the  ratlin  over  the  angry 
billows.  The  captain  on  deck  turned  pale,  wrung 
his  hands,  and  exclaimed  in  a  shrill  feminine  voice, 
which  he  always  assumed  when  in  distress,  "0,  my 
boy,  my  boy!  my  boy  is  lost,  lost!"  He  was  un- 
usually kind  to  me  for  some  time  after  this.  He 
never  knew  how  that  outburst  of  concern  riveted 
me  to  him  forever.  My  master  was  an  out-and-out 
epicure.  Much  of  his  time  was  taken  up  in  consid- 
ering what  he  would  eat  and  what  he  would  drink. 
About  one  o'clock  he  would  be  about  the  caboose 
inspecting  and  tasting  the  dishes.  If  they  pleased 
him  he  would  smack  his  lips,  and  say  to  the  old 
negro  cook,  "David,  David!  I  say,  David,  that's 


62  THE    HELM. 

nice,  David — David,  you  deserve  a  dram  for  this, 
David!"  This  was  David's  only  dish.  I  never  saw 
him  eat  a  meal  in  my  life.  He  seemed  to  live  on 
the  flavor  and  steam  of  the  caboose;  but  it  was  ex- 
hilarating to  see  him  toss  off  a  dram.  The  dinner 
was  deferred  till  two  o'clock,  that  the  after-gang 
might  become  as  ravenous  as  Polar  bears.  The 
captain  would  then  sit  for  two  hours,  drinking  wine 
with  the  passengers,  and  engaged  in  sundry  talk. 
He  would  come  upon  deck  about  five  o'clock,  with 
a  face  as  round  and  red  as  a  full  moon,  take  a 
round  or  two  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  then  slyly 
approach  the  bulwarks,  and  generously  discharge 
his  variegated  cargo  to  the  sharks. 

When  we  made  the  white  cliffs  of  Old  England  I 
was  entranced.  It  was  on  a  clear,  sunshining 
morning;  but  every  thing  had  to  me  a  diminutive 
appearance.  The  farms  seemed  to  be  gardens  with 
large  beds,  the  shrub-fences  —  walks.  Seeing  a 
house  near  the  shore,  it  appeared  of  the  size  of  our 
dog-house  on  board.  Here  I  first  learned  the  rela- 
tion of  sight  to  distance.  I  said  to  an  old  sailor, 
"What  are  they  doing  with  so  many  dog-houses 
ashore?  Look  at  that  little  white  dog-house  on  the 
beach!" 

"Dog-house,  indeed!  I  am  acquainted  with  this 
part  of  the  coast.  That  is  one  of  the  largest  tav- 
erns on  this  part  of  England.  How  far  do  you 
think  you  are  from  land?" 

"About  a  mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half." 


SEA-LIFE.  63 

"You  barber's  clerk,  you!  we  are  about  eight 
miles  off." 

As  soon  as  I  understood  the  distance  every  thing 
appeared  right.  We  are  not  going  to  afflict  our 
readers  with  a  regular  log-book,  but  intend  to  take 
a  running  and  general  view  of  our  sea-life.  We 
made  three  voyages  to  London,  and  became  better 
acquainted  with  the  points  and  reaches  of  the 
Thames  than  with  those  of  our  own  James  River. 

There  is  no  small  perplexity  and  fun  in  ascending 
the  last  five  miles.  Here  the  comers  and  goers  be- 
came so  thick  often,  that  we  had  to  drift  up  by  the 
force  of  the  tide,  with  very  little  sail,  and  sometimes 
get  locked  in  with  a  raft  of  vessels  of  all  sizes  and 
nations.  In  that  day  American  ships  were  highly 
ornamented-  and  neat  in  their  rigging.  Our  ship 
had  a  handsome  figure-head,  and  a  group  of  images 
as  large  as  life  reclining  around  her  stern.  There 
was  a  class  of  vessels  called  colliers,  commanded  by 
rough  North-of-England  men,  with  crews  more  un- 
couth and  outlandish  than  themselves.  It  was  one 
of  their  peculiar  delights  to  smash  a  Yankee.  They 
would  rush  into  an  American  vessel,  crying  out  in 
their  rude  brogue,  "Take  care  of  your  gingerbread 
works  there!"  and  away  would  fly  an  arm  or  leg 
from  our  stern-figures.  Onward  we  would  move 
amid  .  thumping  sides  and  snapping  spars.  The 
crews  would  sometimes  get  exasperated,  and  billets 
of  wood  and  belaying  pins  would  fly  through  the 
air.  In  the  general  row,  if  a  negro  should  put  his 


64  THE    HELM. 

head  up  a  scuttle,  a  general  cry  would  rise,  "Who 
dat?  who  dat?"  This  would  be  followed  by  a  uni- 
versal laugh,  and  the  poor  darkey  would  have  to 
dodge  back.  We  labored  hard,  but  without  success, 
to  learn  the  origin  of  this.  One  thing  is  certain,  it 
was  not  because  they  had  any  prejudice  against 
Africans.  Their  currency  in  England  is  undis- 
puted. It  is  no  uncommon  thing,  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  shipping,  to  see  fair  ladies  locked  arm 
with  the  Africans,  going  to  church,  and  their  beaux 
carrying  their  Morocco  prayer-books.  Some  of  our 
officers  got  acquainted  with  a  rich  tobacconist. 
When  the  ship  returned  to  London  the  young  men 
of  the  family  invited  the  mates  to  come  and  take 
tea  with  them,  observing  that  their  sister  had  got 
married,  during  their  absence,  to  a  Virginia  gentle- 
man. When  the  officers  arrived  they  were  invited 
into  a  splendid  parlor,  and  introduced  to  the  brother- 
in-law — a  tall,  double-jointed  negro. 

Sometimes  our  white  men  would  get  into  a  fight, 
on  shore,  with  some  of  the  colored  cooks  and  stew- 
ards. Then  the  Cockneys  would  crowd  around — 
"Give  it  to  him,  my  African!  Let  him  have  it! 
You  are  not  in  America  now.  You  are  in  the  land 
of  freedom — the  land  of  liberty,  my  boy;  plank  it 
into  him!" 

One  Sabbath  I  thought  I  would  make  the  tour 
of  London.  I  began  by  hunting  a  Methodist  meet- 
ing-house,* which  could  not  be  found ;  but  as  St. 
Paul's  was  looming  up  over  all,  thither  my  steps 


SEA-LIFE.  65 

were  bent.  When  close  to  it  I  was  utterly  disap- 
pointed. True,  it  was  an  enormous  structure,  and 
of  its  architecture  I  was  not  capable  of  judging; 
but  standing,  as  it  had  done  for  generations,  in  the 
coal-smoke  and  moisture  of  London,  many  parts  of 
it  were  as  black  as  the  back  of  a  chimney.  Hav- 
ing entered  under  the  dome,  I  was  astonished  at 
the  magnitude  of  the  work,  and  the  distance  trav- 
eled in  examining  its  monuments.  Passing  along 
the  gangway  that  bordered  the  central  space,  the 
strokes  of  an  organ  struck  my  ear.  I  was  bold 
enough  to  open,  gently,  a  door,  and  found  myself  in 
an  audience,  and,  from  the  splendor  of  their  costume, 
I  began  to  conclude  that  I  had  intruded  into  the 
nobility,  if  not  into  the  royal  family.  I  was  afraid 
my  sailor-dress  would  involve  me  in  a  dismissal, 
but  they  seemed  to  be  so  taken  up  with  each  other 
that  I  was  hardly  noticed.  I  observed  that  as  often 
as  the  preacher  or  reader  mentioned  any  of  the 
Divine  titles  the  organ  struck. 

Being  dismissed  from  the  ecclesiastical  glory  of 
England,  we — you  see  we  have  found  company — 
continued  our  explorations  toward  the  court-end  of 
the  city,  and  in  two  hours  got  lost — as  we  believed, 
irrecoverably,  lost.  If  any  one  gets  lost  in  London, 
let  him  ask  the  first  genteel-looking  person  the 
way.  He  will  stop,  and,  looking  very  wise,  will 
say,  "Find  it  out  by  your  learning,  as  I  did." 
Then  turn  next  to  a  plain  working-man,  whose 

tanned  skin  appears  impervious  to  mischief,  and  ask 

6 


66  THE    HELM. 

him  the  direction  to  London  bridge;  he  will  say, 
"With  pleasure,  sir.  Take  that  street,  and  go  one 
mile,  you  will  come  to  an  open  square,  turn  to  the 
right  and  that  will  lead  you  right  down  to  the 
bridge"  This  will  put  you  two  miles  more  out  of 
the  way.  The  Cockneys  take  sovereign  pleasure  in 
putting  strangers  out  of  the  way,  and  laying  a 
stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  the  blind.  Happy 
are  the  lost  if  they  meet  an  American  sailor,  even 
if  he  is  two  sheets  in  the  wind,  and  the  third  shiv- 
ering, he  will  put  you  in  the  right  road,  if  he  is 
half-lost  himself.  The  Londoners  speak  barbarous 
English.  Well  may  their  literati  hail  with  trans- 
ports Webster's  unabridged.  Indeed,  their  orators 
ought  to  finish  their  English  studies  in  Philadelphia. 
They — the  common  people — are,  moreover,  very 
superstitious — full  of  fearful  traditions,  which  they 
hold  next  to  Scripture.  We  might  give  one  example : 
"The  time  is  coming  when  a  blind  man  shall  hold 
the  horses  of  three  kings  at  the  foot  of  London 
bridge,  while  England  shall  be  lost  and  won  three 
times  in  one  day."  Every  one  is  disappointed  in 
London  at  first  sight.  Its  principal  prestige  is  its 
overgrown  qualities.  The  houses  are  generally 
made  of  brick,  which  are  the  color  of  ours  before 
they  are  burned.  This  dingy  hue,  noways  improved 
by  smoke  and  the  almost  continual  moisture  of  the 
atmosphere,  has  any  thing  but  a  pleasant  appear- 
ance. The  city  is  disgusting  in  comparison  with 
New  York,  Baltimore,  or  Boston.  In  all  our  trad- 


SEA-LIFE.  by 

ing  with  London,  embracing  all  seasons,  we  never 
saw  three  bright,  sunshiny  days.  It  is  not  my 
purpose  to  dwell  on  this  city.  Travelers  have, 
again  and  again,  described  its  lions — I  thought  I 
would  only  turn  up  some  of  its  substratum.  I 
would  hardly  do  justice,  though,  in  passing  by  the 
Battle  of  the  Bee-hive,  which  happened  while  we 
were  there.  There  was  a  beer-house,  not  far  from 
the  Tower,  called  the  "Bee-hive,"  which  had  been 
so  long  patronized  by  the  Yankees,  that  the  Amer- 
ican flag  waved  over  it  perpetually.  At  that  time 
there  was  an  unusual  number  of  Portuguese  in 
port,  and  they  came  suddenly  and  unexpectedly 
upon  the  Americans,  drove  them  out,  and  pulled 
down  the  flag.  The  next  week  the  Americans  mus- 
tered a  considerable  army,  and  undertook  to  dis- 
lodge the  enemy.  The  battle  was  severe.  In  the 
midst  of  the  fray,  the  Irish  got  to  hear  of  it  in 
their  quarters,  and  they  came  pouring  down  like  a 
hurricane.  Some  one  hailed  the  leader,  and  asked 
him  where  he  was  rushing: 

"  There  's  a  fight  on  hand,  me  darling !  and  we 
mean  to  have  a  finger  in  the  pie." 

"Which  side  will  you  take?" 

"American,  sure;  for  they  say  there  is  a  little 
Ireland  in  America." 

And  they  pitched  in,  knocking  down,  and  dragging 
out.  The  fight  became  so  serious  that  they  had  to 
order  troops  from  the  Tower  to  quell  it ;  and  several 
loads  of  the  wounded  were  carried  to  the  hospital. 


68  THEHELM. 

The  Bee-hive,  however,  was  retaken,  and  the 
American  flag,  for  aught  we  know,  may  be  flying 
there  to  the  present  day. 

According  to  our  best  observations,  England  is 
the  most  intemperate  nation  on  earth.  Often  have 
we  seen  the  lower  class  of  females,  with  flushed 
cheeks,  staggering  along  the  city,  taking  both 
sides  of  the  walk.  Those  in  better  circumstances 
drink  their  coffee  laced,  as  they  call  it,  with  French 
brandy,  or  West  India  rum.  But  let  us  put  out 
into  blue  water  again. 


VOYAGE    UP    THE    NORTH    SEA.  69 


VOYAQE  UP  THE  NORTH  SEA. 


ONE  of  the  most  interesting  voyages  I  ever  made 
was  up  the  North  Sea.  As  it  was  in  the  days  of 
the  "  Rambouillet  decree,"  our  ship  joined  a  fleet 
of  merchantmen  of  about  seventy  sail,  under  the 
convoy  of  a  large  English  sloop-of-war,  and  a  gov- 
ernment vessel  of  inferior  metal.  When  the  weather 
is  fine,  with  a  tolerable  breeze  and  smooth  sea,  there 
can  be  no  scene  more  pleasant  than  a  fleet  under 
convoy.  It  always  brings  to  the  mind  the  idea  of 
a  hen  with  her  numerous  brood.  The  fleet  was 
made  up  of  vessels  of  different  nations,  order,  and 
speed.  Ships,  brigs,  schooners,  sloops,  and  galliots 
composed  the  motley  mixture.  So  various  were 
they  in  respect  to  speed  especially,  that,,  while 
some  were  leisurely  careering  along  under  close- 
reefed  top-  sails,  and  sometimes  one  of  them  aback, 
others  were  groaning  under  a  crowd  of  sail,  top- 
gallant sails,  studding  sails,  and  all  the  canvas  that 
they  could  show.  Sometimes  they  seemed  to  lie 
almost  gunwales  under,  and  yet  appeared  to  be  sta- 
tionary on  the  waves.  Ours  was  a  first-rate  Yir- 
ginia  merchantman,  and  her  speed  had  tried  many 
a  British  frigate  in  the  time  of  the  Chesapeake 


70  THE    HELM. 

commotion.  Consequently,  we  walked  among  them 
at  our  pleasure ;  •  and,  backing  and  filing  through 
the  fleet,  we  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  conversing  freely 
with  persons  from  almost  every  part  of  the  world. 
This  was  vastly  ^ffeasant.  We  had  heretofore  made 
long  and  lonesome  voyages  across  the  Atlantic,  and 
we  enjoyed  but  seldom  the  felicity  of  speaking  a 
ship  at  sea.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  cheer- 
ing cry  of  "Sail  ho!  sail  ho!"  springs  a  flash  of  joy 
in  every  bosom,  from  the  captain  to  the  cabin-boy. 
The  strange  sail  appears  at  first  like  a  dark  speck 
in  the  distant  horizon.  Presently  we  see  her  hov- 
ering like  a  dark  bird  in  our  wake.  We  look 
again,  and  she  is  gone.  We  rush  on  to  our  respect- 
ive destinies;  but  with  renewed  impressions  of  the 
shortness  of  the  voyage  of  life,  and  the  rapid  flight 
of  time.  The  Bible  student  almost  involuntarily 
exclaims,  with  Job,  "  They  pass  away  like  the  fast- 
sailing  ships."  But  on  the  North  Sea  we  found  our- 
selves in  the  midst  of  a  floating,  fugitive  city,  and 
the  solitude  of  ocean  seemed  to  be  driven  away. 
One  night  we  were  suddenly  alarmed  by  a  torrent 
of  blue  flame,  pouring  over  the  stern  of  a  distant 
bark.  This  was  the  signal  of  an  enemy  close 
aboard.  It  was  at  this  particular  time  that  the 
analogy  between  the  fleet  and  a  brood  of  chickens 

O*/ 

struck  most  forcibly.  Immediately  the  man-of-war 
made  signal  lights  for  us  to  consolidate.  The  ves- 
sels in  advance  hove  to,  or  shortened  sail;  while 
those  which  were  laboring  astern,  and  had  been 


VOYAGE    UP    THE    NOETH    SEA.  71 

straining  a  perpetual  race  from  the  beginning, 
crowded  more.  We  soon  huddled  together  like 
frightened  chickens,  while  the  sloop-of-war,  wheel- 
ing round  as  an  angry  hen  would  do  to  face  the 
hawk,  left  us  in  charge  of  her  consort,  and  crowded 
all  sail  in  chase  of  the  privateer. 

And,  while  we  are  thus  hove  to,  permit  me  to 
tell  a  story  about  an  American  merchantman  that 
was  taken  at  this  time.  The  enemy  proved  to  be  a 
Danish  privateer.  She  hastily  threw  a  prize-master 
and  crew  on  board,  and  ordered  them  into  the  first 
port.  The  Americans  were  not  confined,  and,  as 
they  had  open  intercourse  .with  each  other,  the  cap- 
tain formed  a  plan  to  retake  the  vessel.  He  told 
his  men  to  be  always  ready;  that  he  would  em- 
brace the  most  favorable  opportunity;  and  that  the 
signal  or  watchword  should  be,  "The  ship's  our 
own."  Hours  after  hours  rolled  by,  and  no  good 
opportunity  seemed  to  present  itself.  At  last  the 
destined  port  hove  in  view.  The  ship  was  rapidly 
nearing  the  harbor.  Orders  were  given  to  over- 
haul the  cable  and  clear  the  anchor.  The  American 
ensign  was  hoisted  under  their  national  flag.  The 
captive  captain  bit  his  lips.  He  cast  a  feverish 
glance  around.  He  saw  his  hearts  of  oak  at  their 
stations,  and  their  indignant  sky-lights  fastened 
upon  him.  He  could  stand  no  more,  but  bellowed 
out,  in  a  voice  that  echoed  from  stem  to  tafferel, 
"  THE  SHIP  's  OUR  OWN."  Some  of  the  Danes,  hav- 
ing an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  English,  under- 


72  THEHELM. 

stood  him  to  say,  "  The  ship  's  aground,"  and  they 
reiterated  in  their  own  tongue,  "The  ship  's 
aground — the  ship's  aground."  These  were  luck- 
less words;  for  every  Dane  ran  to  look  over  the 
sides,  to  see  if  the  ship's  way  was  stopped.  The 
Americans  had  meditated  a  bloody  rescue,  and  had 
stationed  a  hand  at  the  carpenter's  chest,  below,  to 
supply  them  with  deadly  tools.  Not  that  they  had 
any  particular  spite  against  their  foreign  ship- 
mates; but  they  were  harrowed  up  by  the  thoughts 
of  a  Danish  prison.  But  when  they  saw  them 
standing  so  convenient  to  the  blue  water,  they  con- 
cluded to  give  them  the  most  honorable  quietus 
that  a  conquered  sailor  could  ask  for;  so  they 
tipped  them  over  the  sides,  and  gave  them  a 
launch,  as  they  expressed  it,  into  "  Davy  Jones's 
locker."  A  strong  and  active  American  brought 
the  man  at  the  helm  a  kind  of  lee-lurch  and 
weather-roll,  and  sent  him  sprawling  into  the  scup- 
pers, dryly  observing  that,  as  the  ship  had  changed 
her  papers,  and  it  was  necessary  to  relieve  the 
helm,  he  believed  he  would  take  the  first  trick  at 
the  wheel.  As  he  said  this,  he  cocked  his  eye  up 
to  the  mizzen-peak,  where  the  national  flags  were 
taking  a  somersault  extraordinary.  Meantime  the 
captain  spread  himself  as  large  as  life  on  the  quar- 
ter-deck, and  once  more  cried  out  with  an  untram- 
meled  tongue,  "Sard  a-lee,  there  I  Foresheet,  fore- 
top-bowline,  jib  and  staysail  sheets,  let  go  /"  The 
saucy  Eliza  sprung  at  once  into  the  wind's  eye; 


VOYAGE    UP    THE    NOETH    SEA.  73 

and  in  the  next  moment  was  heard,  "Maintop-sail 
haul!  Board  tacks,  and  gather  aft!"  And,  as 
they  slewed  their  spanker  to  the  shore,  the  aston- 
ished natives,  who  had  crowded  the  wharf  to  see 
the  prize  enter,  beheld  the  bright  Stars  and  Stripes 
of  the  American  Republic  floating  over  the  hum- 
bled bunting  of  Denmark.  You  may  well  suppose 
that  the  crew  was  not  slow  in  obeying  the  command 
to  muster  aft  and  give  three  cheers,  and  then  to 
break  loose,  in  their  hearty  manner,  and  sing: 

"  Stretch  her  off,  my  brave  boys ! 

For  it  never  shall  be  said 
That  the  sons  of  America 

Were  ever  yet  afraid. 
Stretch  her  off,  my  brave  boys!" 

The  best  of  all  is,  we  have  no  list  of  the  killed 
and  wounded,  for  this  singular  maneuver  took  place 
almost  in  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  and  it  was  un- 
doubtedly a  bloodless  victory.  The  discharged 
crew,  of  course,  took  to  their  flippers;  and  their 
active  countrymen  on  shore  would  hardly  let  them 
perish.  But  the  Eliza  left  them  diving  and  floun- 
dering about  like  a  Dutch  galliot  in  the  Bay  of 
Biscay. 

In  returning  to  the  fleet,  we  would  observe,  how 
often  do  we  realize  through  life  the  folly  of  trust- 
ing in  chariots  or  horses,  or  even  in  ships,  however 
strong  they  may  be!  While  we  on  board  the  Shef- 
field were  felicitating  ourselves  on  'our  advantages, 
both  in  regard  to  labor  and  safety — because  the 
easy  sail  we  carried  was  not  too  much  for  an  ordi- 


74  THE     HELM. 

nary  gale,  and  while  others  were  continually  making 
or  taking  in  sail,  we  had  but  little  to  do — a  storm 
came  on,  when  we  discovered  that  an  unforeseen  evil 
was  preparing  to  devour  us.  The  ballast  which  we 
had  taken  in,  and  which  seemed  sufficiently  solid, 
proved  to  be  a  species  of  quicksand.  The  pumps 
became  choked,  and  the  bilge  water,  diffusing  itself 
through  the  ballast,  liquefied  the  whole  mass,  and 
the  shifting  boards"  were  not  sufficient  for  this 
exigency.  The  ship  could  stand  on  neither  tack 
without  capsizing.  The  hatches  could  not  be  safely 
moved  with  the  heavy  sea  that  was  going.  The 
scene,  as  viewed  from  the  between-decks  by  the 
light  of  our  candles,  was  truly  appalling.  The  bal- 
last rolled  in  terrific  waves  fore  and  aft,  and  we 
had  in  the  hold  a  fearful  miniature  of  the  storm 
that  was  raging  without.  Our  captain  was  entirely 
unmanned — he  wept  like  a  child ;  and  as  I-  stooped 
down  by  his  side  to  hold  the  lamp,  more  than  once 
or  twice  I  heard  the  half-smothered  prayer,  "Lord, 
have  mercy  upon  us!"  We  hoisted  a  signal  of  dis- 
tress, when  our  noble  convoy  bore  down,  and  threw 
several  boat-loads  of  hardy  sailors  on  board.  "With 
much  labor  we  succeeded  in  establishing  shifting- 
boards,  and  securing  the  ballast,  so  as  to  go  on 
with  some  degree  of  safety.  However,  this  gale 
dissolved  all  our  social  compacts,  and  the  fleet  was 
scattered  to  congregate  no  more. 

In  a  few  days  we  were  standing  in  for  Norway. 
The  prospect  on  approaching  this  coast  was  most 


VOYAGE     UP     THE     NORTH     SEA.  75 

sublime.  We  do  not  say  it  was  the  most  pleasing 
ever  witnessed.  The  most  enchanting  scene  we 
ever  beheld  of  the  kind  was  on  a  previous  voyage, 
while  making  the  coast  of  Holland.  Hearing  on 
that  occasion  the  cheering  cry  of  "Land  ho!"  I 
sprung  from  below,  and  looking  over  the  weather 
bow,  saw  numerous  stacks  of  chimneys,  steeples, 
and  spires  rising  apparently  out  of  the  sea,  while 
the  morning  sun  was  playing  upon  them  with  his 
dazzling  beams.  All  on  board  seemed  to  be  per- 
fectly entranced.  It  appeared  to  exceed  all  of 
witchcraft  lore  or  fairy  scenery  that  had  ever  been 
told.  "What  have  we  here?"  exclaimed  I.  "A 
Dutch  village,"  said  one.  "But  where  is  the 
land?"  "In  the  watch  below;  and  never  a  needle- 
full  will  you  see  for  an  hour  to  come."  And  so  it 
was.  Presently  we  raised  the  roofs  of  the  houses, 
then  the  windows,  and,  last  of  all,  a  dark  pencil 
line,  as  it  were,  disclosing  the  bank  or  levee  which 
protects  the  coast  from  the  sea,  and  the  whole 
country  from  inundation.  On  entering  the  river, 
we  found  that  it  was  protected  by  a  similar  levee. 
All  the  meadows  and  pastures  were  separated  by 
verdant  banks  of  like  construction;  and  to  one  aloft 
the  whole  face  of  the  country  wore  the  appearance 
of  a  vast  honeycomb.  The  contrast  between  this 
and  the  coast  of  Norway  was  very  striking.  Here 
Nature  presented  herself  in  her  most  rugged  sublim- 
ity. Lofty  mountains,  frightful  cliffs,  and  flinty 
promontories  stretched  along  the  coast.  We  had  a 


76  THE    HELM. 

good  pilot  on  board — but  to  be  standing  full  on  this 
iron-bound  country,  with  all  sail  set,  and  not  a  bay, 
inlet,  sandbank,  or  river's  mouth,  to  indicate  a  har- 
bor at  hand,  was  truly  terrific.  Still  she  sailed  on, 
and  sailed  on;  and  every  knot  she  ran  seemed  to 
render  the  prospect  more  and  more  horrible.  At  last 
a  narrow  passage  around  a  needle,  that  stood  out  of 
the  sea,  began  to  discover  itself.  We  entered  in, 
but  it  appeared  to  terminate  against  a  perpendicu- 
lar cliff,  not  far  ahead,  where  it  seemed  we  must  of 
necessity  come  to  the  end  of  our  rope.  But  just 
before  we  reached  the  frightful  point,  another  pas- 
sage presented,  and  another;  and  so  we  glided,  as  it 
were,  among  the  enormous  fragments  of  a  ruined 
coast,  till  at  last  we  shot  into  a  tranquil  basin, 
entirely  shut  in  from  the  sea.  The  water  here  was 
smooth  as  a  mirror,  and  clear  and  blue  as  the 
waves  of  the  midway  ocean.  Even  our  very  royal 
masts  were  protected  from  the  storms  that  idly 
raged  without;  and  in  front  of  our  anchorage  stood 
the  beautiful  and  romantic  village  of  Christiansand. 
Were  we  writing  the  history  of  our  travels  in  full, 
we  would  love  to  dwell  on  this  Norwegian  scenery ; 
but  we  have  brought  our  readers  into  this  part 
merely  to  relate  a  circumstance  which  overshad- 
owed our  whole  crew  with  mourning. 

After  the  ship  had  taken  in  a  cargo  of  lumber, 
and  was  prepared  to  depart  on  the  next  morning,  it 
was  the  turn  of  one  part  of  the  crew  to  have  a 
night's  liberty  on  shore.  When  the  evening  came, 


VOYAGE    UP    THE    NORTH    SEA.  77 

the  forecastle  was  lighted  up;  and  there  was  a  gen- 
eral overhauling  of  chests,  in  search  of  some  favor- 
ite articles  of  dress,  long  togs,  etc.  An  unusual  glee 
pervaded  the  ship's  company.  There  was  a  man  on 
board  named  Charles.  He  was  a  Polander  by  birth. 
He  was  a  man  of  more  dignified  bearing  than  gen- 
erally falls  to  the  lot  of  sailors,  and,  according  to  his 
own  account,  had  held  some  important  office  in  the 
army.  He  spoke  English  badly,  but  was  so  full  of 
hilarity  and  good-humor,  that  he  was  a  universal 
favorite.  He  was,  moreover,  the  handsomest  man 
on  board;  which,  by  the  by,  he  might  have  been 
without  being  a  prodigy,  for  we  were  a  hard- 
favored  collection  of  weather  dogs.  This  last-men- 
tioned quality  was  no  let  or  hinderance  to  his 
popularity  on  board,  as  sailors  think  that  beauty 
may  do  for  soldiers  or  barbers'  clerks.  Charles  had 
worn  an  uncommonly-gloomy  appearance  all  this 
afternoon;  and  while  the  joke,  the  laugh,  the  repar- 
tee were  going  their  usual  rounds  in  the  fore  peak, 
a  settled  cloud  rested  on  his  brow.  I  have  wished 
often  since  that  I  had  taken  him  aside,  and  asked 
him  seriously  what  was  resting  on  his  mind;  for  I 
have  a  curiosity  to  the  present  day  to  know  whether 
some  awful  presentiment  was  gnawing  on  his  spirits, 
or  whether  he  was  meditating  some  dark  deed,  un- 
worthy of  his  general  character.  At  last  he  made 
a  powerful  effort  to  shake  off  his  reverie,  and  began 
to  prepare  for  the  shore.  All  things  being  adjusted, 
the  company  lightly  tripped  over  the  main  deck, 


78  THE    HELM. 

and,  passing  out  at  the  starboard  gangway,  entered 
into  a  flat,  which  had  been  used  in  bringing  off  our 
stores.  There  were  no  oars  kept  in  her,  as  one  good 
shove  would  generally  send  her  to  the  wharf. 
Charles  was  the  last  who  entered  in.  Some  one 
cried  out,  "Give  her  a  good  headway,  Charley." 
He  took  a  very  heavy  set.  The  scow  shot  like  an 
arrow;  but  poor  Charley,  being  either  unable  or 
unwilling — God  knows  which — to  recover  himself, 
fell  with  a  tremendous  plunge.  The  men  in  the  flat 
were  receding  from  him,  and  having  no  means  of 
coming  to  his  rescue,  could  only  cry  out  with  might 
and  main,  "Man  overboard!"  The  alarming  cry 
rang  from  ship  to  ship,  from  shore  to  shore,  in  all 
the  babbling  languages  of  the  harbor.  "Man  over- 
board! man  overboard!"  This,  with  the  darkness 
of  the  night,  the  plunging  into  boats,  the  rattling 
of  oars,  the  bursting  forth  of  lights  upon  the  water 
and  the  land,  formed  a  scene  awfully  terrific.  At 
the  onset  of  alarm,  those  of  us  who  were  on  board 
searched  diligently  all  around  the  ship  for  the  pin- 
nace, but  no  boat  could  we  see;  yet  when  he  had 
sunk  to  rise  uo  more  alive,  we  found  the  boat  fast- 
ened to  the  larboard  gangway,  with  all  her  oars  in. 
Our  general  belief  in  that  day  was,  that  "our  eyes 
were  blinded  that  we  could  not  perceive."  And 
many  a  fearful  talk  about  that  pinnace  did  we 
have  at  sea,  under  the  lee  of  the  long-boat.  Nearly 
all  night  was  spent  in  raking  for  the  body,  but  to 
no  purpose.  A  deep  gloom  fell  on  the  crew.  The 


VOYAGE    UP    tfHE    NORTH    SEA.  79 

next  morning,  with  heavy  hearts,  we  manned  the 
windlass  and  got  under  way.  After  we  arrived  in 
England,  we  received  a  friendly  letter,  stating  that 
the  body  of  poor  Charles  was  found  on  the  day  we 
sailed,  and  that  he  was  buried  with  all  the  nautical 
honors  that  the  port  could  afford. 


80  THEHELM. 


V. 
STORMS  AND  SHORT  ALLOWANCE. 

WE  have  been  sometimes  asked  if  we  were  ever 
shipwrecked.  We  never  were,  but  we  have  en- 
countered many  dangerous  and  stripping  storms. 
Once  on  the  midway  ocean  we  encountered  a  gale 
that  continued  for  several  days  with  increasing  vio- 
lence. It  came  on  gradually,  so  that  we  could 
shorten  sail  as  it  increased.  This  we  did  continu- 
ally, till  we  were  under  bare  poles,  hoping  that  this 
would  suffice.  But  still  the  gale  increased,  so  that 
we  had  to  send  down  our  top-sail  yards,  and  even 
house  the  topmasts.  But  it  raged  on  till  we  had 
to  lower  down  our  lower  yards,  and  then  it  became 
a  perfect  hurricane.  The  seas  broke  over  our  decks, 
sweeping  fore  and  aft,  and  we  were  apprehensive 
we  would  have  to  cut  away  our  lower  masts.  The 
heavy  thumps  of  conflicting  surges  so  opened  her 
seams  as  to  cause  profuse  leaking,  and  we  were 
under  constant  apprehension  of  the  ship  swamping 
under  us.  For  several  days  we  had  no  regular 
meals,  and  when  we  did  eat  it  was  raw  provision; 
for  it  was  impossible  to  cook.  As  tenacious  as  the 
captain  was  of  his  fine  cabin,  he  had  to  take  his 


STORMS    AND    SHORT    ALLOWANCE.        81 

crew  into  it,  for  the  forecastle  was  necessarily  bat- 
tened down.  Such  was  the  laboring  and  pitching 
of  the  ship,  that  the  men  could  not  keep  their  feet 
while  eating  a  morsel.  One  man  had  to  sit  on  the 
floor  with  his  feet  pressed  against  the  locker; 
another  would  get  behind  him,  and  press  his  feet 
against  the  back  of  the  first,  and  so  on  till  they 
formed  a  line  across  the  cabin.  Then  a  piece  of 
fat  raw  pork  was  handed  from  one  to  another,  and 
every  man  would  out  with  his  knife  and  cut  off  a 
hunk.  The  bread-bag  was  passed  in  the  same  way, 
and  so  we  took  our  meals.  When  the  gale  subsided, 
it  was  like  rigging  a  new  ship,  to  get  her  in  order 
to  pursue  her  course.  But  we  were  once  in  a  more 
dangerous  position  than  this,  as  we  thought.  We 
were  bound  for  Spain,  and.  making  for  Cadiz — the 
land  in  view.  After  a  beautiful  morning  the  at- 
mosphere became  hazy.  We  were  under  a  press  of 
canvas,  when  we  were  suddenly  struck  by  a  le- 
vanter.  I  was  at  the  helm  at  the  time.  The  square 
mainsail  flew  from  its  bolt-ropes  like  a  handkerchief. 
In  clapping  the  helm  aweather,  it  seemed  to  me  as 
if  my  ribs  were  crushed.  The  captain  called  -two 
men  to  the  helm,  and  as  soon  a^the  ship  was  got- 
ten under  proper  sail,  we  began  to  beat  off;  but  it 
was  a  vain  effort.  We  were  partly  land-locked, 
and  in  consequence  of  the  reduction  of  sail,  we 
made  much  leeway.  It  blew  furiously.  The  le- 
vanter  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  euroclydon, 
which  shipwrecked  the  apostle  Paul.  In  the  midst 


82  T  H  E     II  E  L  M  . 

of  all  our  trouble,  night — dark,  moonless,  starless 
night — came  on.  When  we  tacked  toward  the  shore, 
we  would  stand  on  till  the  surf  could  be  dimly  dis- 
cerned like  an  enormous  drift  of  snow,  while  its 
thunder  would  rise  superior  to  all  the  howlings  of 
the  tempest.  It  was  evident  that  with  all  our  effort 
we  were  gradually  nearing  the  shore.  Although 
our  topsails  were  close-reefed,  the  canvas  new,  and 
our  spars  strong,  yet  it  seemed  a  miracle  to  all  on 
board  that  she  could  carry  any  sail  in  such  a  driv- 
ing tornado.  The  captain  at  last  spoke  out,  "The 
gale  is  increasing,  the  sails  and  spars  can  not  stand 
this  much  longer.  If  we  take  in  any  more  sail  it 
will  only  hasten  our  fate.  Carpenter,  get  your  ax; 
if  a  yard  breaks,  or  a  sail  splits,  we  will  have  to 
cut  away  the  masts  and  let  her  go — perhaps  on  an 
iron-bound  coast,  where  all  will  be  lost."  A  silent 
agony  seemed  to  reign  over  the  crew.  The  voice 
of  cursing  and  swearing  had  long  since  been  hushed. 
The  boasting  sailor  stood  as  quiet  as  a  lamb.  When 
a  spar  would  give  an  unusual  creak,  the  sailors 
would  squat  almost  to  the  deck,  as  though  to  re- 
ceive with  humble  submission  the  final  blow.  0, 
what  prayers  silently  ascended!  What  promises 
were  made!  The  bitterness  of  death  was  almost 
passed,  when  it  pleased  God  in  his  infinite  mercy 
to  haul  the  wind  round  six  or  seven  points,  so  that, 
though  the  storm  blew  with  greater  violence,  we 
were  enabled  to  stand  out  to  sea. 

We  are  aware  that  some  who  are  accustomed  to 


STORMS    AND    SHORT    ALLOWANCE.        83 

sea  matters  will  regard  this  as  incredible — incredible 
that  the  ship  should  beat  off  as  long  as  she  did, 
with  such  close  sail — incredible  that  she  could  carry 
sail  at  all.  But  we  can  add  some  things  which  will 
give  testimony  to  the  violence  of  the  blow.  When 
the  weather  moderated,  we  stood  into  the  harbor, 
and  found  that  the  vessels  that  outrode  the  storm 
had  housed  their  masts,  and  were  pitching  and 
heaving,  as  if  they  would  tear  themselves  away 
from  their  moorings.  Seventeen  vessels  in  the  har- 
bor, mostly  American,  dragged  anchors,  during  the 
gale,  and  stranded  on  the  side  of  the  bay  where 
the  French  army  was  then  encamped,  and  were 
burned.  A  large  Spanish  prison  ship,  full  of  French 
soldiers,  was  driven  ashore,  and  saved  by  their  own 
countrymen.  The  inhabitants  said  there  had  not 
been  such  a  storm  on  that  coast  for  twenty  years. 
The  people  saw  us  struggling  without  before  night 
came  on,  and  they  said,  "That  poor  crew  will  be 
rolling  among  the  rocks  before  morning."  When 
we  give  these  cases  of  narrow  escape,  we  do  not 
mean  that  they  were  the  only  blows  we  had  to  en- 
counter. We  have  had  storms  upon  storms,  and  have 
been  frightened  ways  without  number.  But  there 
are  other  things  we  had  to  grapple  with  besides 
storms.  One  of  the  evils  incident  to  a  sea-faring 
life,  is  that  of  being  put  on  short  allowance. 

True,  it  is  not  of  frequent  occurrence.  We  never 
realized  it  but  once.  The  captain  had  determined 
to  run  down  the  trades  on  his  return  voyage,  and 


84  THE     HELM. 

we  soon  got  into  a  mild  climate,  where  we  had 
almost  uninterrupted  clear  weather  overhead  — 
weather  very  similar  to  our  Indian  Summer  of  the 
West;  but  the  great  botheration  was,  we  had  no 
wind.  "Week  after  week,  with  an  occasional  paren- 
thesis, our  fine  ship  lay  entirely  becalmed.  Some 
who  have  never  been  on  the  seas,  regard  a  calm  as 
being  a  season  of  desirable  rest,  notwithstanding  it 
may  be  accompanied  with  the  slight  drawback  of 
homesickness.  But  nothing  is  more  annoying  on 
the  seas.  Although  at  such  a  time  the  surface  of 
the  water  is  as  smooth  as  a  mirror,  yet  the  long 
and  heavy  swells  continue;  and  as  there  is  not  air 
enough  to  fill  the  sails,  so  as  to  steady  the  ship, 
there  is  a  continual  and  irregular  rolling  and  tum- 
bling. The  blocks  and  ropes  are  perpetually  slam- 
ming against  the  standing  rigging,  and  the  sails 
flapping  on  the  masts,  and  every  thing  above  and 
below,  fore  and  aft,  jerking  and  surging,  in  spite  of 
all  the  elects  and  lashings  that  human  ingenuity 
can  devise.  It  seems  as  if  all  inanimate  appurten- 
ances on  board  have  risen  up  in  wild  rebellion,  as 
though  to  avenge  themselves  for  all  the  straining 
and  hauling  they  have  endured  from  time  to  time. 
It  is  a  perfect  jubilee  of  misrule  with  blocks  and 
tackles,  and  all  their  allies.  The  sailor-boy  on  the 
yard-arm,  jerked  and  twisted  as  he  is,  sees  the  sail 
stealthily  falling  back  toward  him;  he  thinks  he 
may  control  its  gravity  by  a  slight  slue;  but  it 
gives  a  sudden  rasp  across  his  knuckles,  the  tears 


STORMS    AND    SHORT    ALLOWANCE.        85 

spring  from  his  eyes,  he  grinds  his  teeth,  and  while 
he  is  in  the  act  of  shaping  a  ripsneezer — half  curse, 
half  prayer — the  leech  sweeps  back  like  lightning, 
raking  unmercifully  the  whole  vertebral  column, 
and  tossing  his  tarpaulin  sportively  on  the  blue 
waves,  with  the  cheers  and  laughter  of  the  whole 
crew,  who  are  hungry  for  the  slightest  incident  that 
might  break  upon  the  monotony  of  the  incessant 
clattering;  while  poor  Jack,  clapping  his  hand  to 
his  maintop,  is  right  glad  to  find  that  his  scalp  is 
left  behind.  Sometimes,  from  the  mast-head,  we 
would  see  a  beautiful  stripe  of  wind,  far  away  to 
the  larboard  or  starboard,  and  some  happy  vessel 
booming  along  with  all  sail  set;  but  notwithstand- 
ing all  our  whistling,  and  all  our  wooing,  not  a 
solitary  puff  would  kiss  our  sails.  A  sickening 
ennui  pervaded  the  crew,  and  all,  from  the  captain 
to  the  cook,  unnaturally  longed  for  a  driving 
tempest. 

After  we  had  been  out  more  than  a  month,  the 
discontent  of  the  crew  was  increased  by  their  to- 
bacco falling  short.  Those  of  liberal  build,  who 
had  not  been  accustomed  to  chew  their  morsel 
alone,  first  began  to  feel  the  pressure.  The  foreign 
sailors,  whose  standing-rule  was  to  take  care  of 
No.  1,  held  out  longer,  and  speculated  some  on  the 
necessities  of  their  shipmates;  but  as  the  prospect 
became  more  dreary,  they  closed  up  their  stocks 
against  love  or  money,  When  we  were  called  to 
dinner,  some  would  hide  their  quids  in  the  most 


86  THE    HELM. 

secret  places  they  could  find;  but  one  peculiar 
quality  of  starvation  is  the  sharpening  of  sight,  and 
others  would  find  these  "old  soldiers,"  as  they 
called  them,  and  transfer  them  to  a  warmer  berth. 
At  last  all  was  gone,  and  the  crew,  generally,  sub- 
stituted oakum,  or  rope-yarn,  for  the  precious  weed. 

But  after  a  while  our  provisions  began  to  fail, 
and  short  allowance  was  proclaimed.  Our  water 
was  not  so  much  reduced;  but  as  it  was  uncertain 
how  long  we  might  be  detained,  we  were  allowed  a 
quart  per  day.  This  we  thought  would  do;  but  we 
had  not  taken  into  consideration  that  a  day  was 
twenty- four  hours,  and  that  we  would  require  as 
much  drink  in  our  long  watches  on  deck  at  night 
as  in  the  day-time.  Well,  as  for  our  water,  we 
would  generally  drink  it  all  off  before  sunset,  and 
then  be  tormented  with  a  burning  thirst  till  the 
next  day  at  noon,  when  our  rations  would  be  dis- 
tributed. 

Our  meat  allowance  was  still  more  spare.  At 
dinner-time  the  meat  was  taken  into  the  forecastle. 
Some  just  salt  was  appointed  to  cut  it  up  into 
twelve  equal  pieces.  This  was  spread  out  on  a 
board.  One  of  the  apprentices  was  sent  upon  deck, 
the  lid  of  the  scuttle  was  drawn  over,  and  the 
carver  putting  his  knife  on  a  piece,  would  say, 
"Who  shall  have  this?"  The  boy  above  would 
answer,  "Long  Jack." 

"And  who  shall  have  this?" 

«  Tom— hog-face  Tom." 


STORMS  AND   SHORT   ALLOWANCE.          87 

And  so  they  would  go  on  to  the  end  of  the  mess ; 
and  happy  was  he  who  got  the  fattest  gob;  for  the 
share  of  one  man,  for  twenty-four  hours,  was  not 
larger  than  his  thumb. 

After  being  out  three  months  from  the  Land's 
End  of  England,  we  made  the  coast  of  America  off 
Savannah.  As  soon  as  the  rope  was  thrown  to  the 
pilot-boat,  the  crew,  as  with  the  voice  of  one  man, 
said,  "Have  you  any  tobacco?"  "Plenty — plenty," 
said  the  pilot,  and  he  soon  handed  up  about  a 
pound  of  nigger-heads,  as  they  were  called  in  those 
days.  Then  the  pump  was  put  into  the  water-cask, 
the  kid  well  filled,  the  bread-bag  replenished,  and 
the  songs  and  laughter  of  merry-hearted  men  were 
heard  in  the  fore  peak.  So,  we  may  imagine,  felt 
the  poor  prodigal,  after  he  had  abandoned  the  hog- 
trough,  and  found  himself  seated  with  his  parents 
and  sisters  around  the  fatted  calf,  while  the  old 
homestead  shook  with  music  and  gladness.  And 
happier — yea,  almost  infinitely  —  feels  the  poor  sin- 
ner, when,  redeemed  from  the  husks  and  vanities  of 
the  world,  he  first  tastes  the  celestial  riches  of  re- 
deeming grace  and  dying  love. 

Thank  God,  there  is  no  need  of  short  allowance 
in  the  old  Ship  of  Zion;  for  she  is  laden  with  the 
bread  and  water  of  life,  and  the  great  Captain  says, 
"Eat,  0  my  friends,  and  drink  abundantly,  0  my 
beloved!  In  my  presence  is  fullness  of  joy,  and  at 
my  right  hand  there  are  pleasures  forever  more." 
Yes,  her  breezes  are  gales  of  love,  and  her  calms 


88  THEHELM. 

are  calms  indeed.  Her  spirit-rations  are  of  the 
wine  of  the  kingdom;  and  well  may  the  poet  say 
of  that 

"  New  life  it  sheds  through  dying  hearts, 

And  cheers  the  drooping  mind, 
Vigor  and  joy  its  juice  imparts, 
Without  a  sting  behind." 

Come  on  board,  fellow-sinners,  and  eat,  that  you 
may  live  forever;  and  drink,  that  you  may  thirst 
no  more.  It  is  true,  that  while  we  are  in  this  dis- 
ordered world,  we  may  suffer,  physically,  starvation, 
or  even  shipwreck;  but  our  souls  may  feed  and 
feast  upon  the  promises  of  God;  and  as  it  regards 
our  bodily  sufferings,  we  may  say — 

"  Lord !  what  are  all  our  sufferings  here, 

If  thou  but  count  us  meet 
With  that  enraptured  host  to  appear, 
And  worship  at  thy  feet  ?" 


SECOND    MATE — PRIVATEERING.  89 


VI. 

SECOND    MATE— PRIVATEERINQ. 

HAVING  spent  several  years  in  acquiring  a  knowl- 
edge of  seamanship,  under  promising  circumstances 
I  went  out  second  mate  of  a  brig  owned  in  Boston. 
The  captain  and.  the  crew,  with  the  exception  of 
myself,  were  all  New  England  men.  I  soon  saw  a 
great  difference  between  them  and  Southern  sailors. 
The  sailors  employed  in  the  South  are  generally 
citizens  of  the  world,  with  few  local  attachments — 
their  home,  if  they  have  any,  upon  the  sea.  The 
Yankee  crew  is  often  an  association  of  neighbors, 
having  abiding  habitations  on  the  land,  and  sympa- 
thies clinging  around  institutions  on  shore ;  and  their 
voyages  are  more  like  speculative  enterprises  than 
an  unconditional  lifetime  business.  They  will  talk 
about  deacons  and  sextons,  and  never  forget  thanks- 
giving day,  but  distinguish  it  by  large  batches  of 
sweetcake,  and  plenty  of  codfish.  Each  man  must 
have  a  suit  of  long  clothes  to  go  ashore  in.  The 
Southern  sailor  glories  in  his  sea-rigging.  There  is 
more  familiarity  between  the  officers  and  men  on 
board  our  Northern  ships  than  would  be  tolerated 

South.      The  captain  of  our  brig  was  an  elderly 

8 


90  THEHELM. 

man,  and  had  seen  much  service  in  the  "West  India 
trade  and  coastwise,  and  was  a  good  sailor;  but  he 
was  very  deficient  in  education.  He  could  scarcely 
write  so  as  to  be  understood,  and  I  soon  saw  he  was 
very  bungling  in  making  his  daily  calculations.  I 
continued  to  keep  my  journal — indeed,  it  was  now 
my  official  duty  to  do  so.  When  we  were  pretty 
well  on  in  our  voyage,  he  said  one  evening,  "Mr. 
L.,  you  have  been  looking  over  your  reckoning. 
How  near  do  you  suppose  we  are  to  land,  and 
what  point  would  we  reach  standing  on  our  present 
course?"  I  answered,  according  to  my  reckoning, 
we  are  near  land,  and  keeping  the  course  we  are 
now  on,  we  ought  to  make  Silly  about  twelve  o'clock 
to-night.  At  this  he  started  up,  and  said  contempt- 
uously, "Silly!  you  must  be  a  great  navigator, 
indeed,  and  you  are  out  in  your  distance  by  two 
hundred  miles;  and  then  on  this  course  she  would 
run  pretty  well  up  the  British  channel."  This  was 
said  before  the  man  at  the  helm,  and  I  considered 
it  insulting,  but  there  was  no  redress. 

He  retired  into  the  cabin,  and  having  the  watch 
on  deck,  I  kept  a  bright  look-out.  Being  a  young 
man,  I  did  not  expect  to  be  very  correct  in  my 
reckoning;  and  I  knew  that  some  old  captains  were 
sometimes  as  much  as  two  hundred  miles  out  in 
their  distance.  While  studying  on  these  matters,  a 
bright  light  flashed  up  ahead,  and  in  a  moment  it 
vanished — returned — vanished.  It  was  with  tumult- 
uous delight  I  stepped  into  the  cabin  and  roused  up 


SECOND    MATE — PRIVATEERING.  91 

the  captain.  "  What 's  the  matter,  Mr.  L.  ?"  "  Silly 
light,  sir."  "Why  will  you  persist  in  that,  Mr.  L. ? 
How  do  you  know  it  is  Silly  light,  sir?"  " Because 
it  is  a  revolving  light." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  a  revolving  light?" 
"It  revolves  or  turns,  so  as  to  appear  and  dis- 
appear alternately." 

He  bustled  up  on  deck  just  as  the  light  was  in 
all  its  brilliancy;  but  when  it  disappeared  he 
laughed  and  said,  "  Where  is  your  Silly  now  ?  It 's 
the  light  of  a  ship  bobbing  up  and  down  in  the 
seas."  He  had  hardly  said  this  before  it  flashed  up 
again. 

"Mr.  L.,  have  you  ever  seen  this  light  before?" 
"Yes,  twice.  There  is  no  light  like  it  on  all  the 
English  coast.  Look  at  the  chart,  and  you  will 
have  to  give  it  a  wider  berth,  or  be  a  wreck  before 
morning."  This  awakened  him.  I  have  always  be- 
lieved if  he  had  been  alone  in  navigation  the  brig 
would  have  been  laid  a  wreck.  On  his  return  he 
claimed  to  be  the  best  sailor,  but  said,  "Mr.  L.  is 
the  best  navigator." 

As  preparatory  to  the  return-passage,  the  captain 
had  all  his  empty  beef-barrels  filled  with  fresh  water, 
as  he  supposed  he  was  deficient  in  water-casks.  We 
did  not  blame  him  for  doing  so,  in  case  of  emerg- 
ency. But  in  open  disregard  of  the  old  sailor- 
proverb,  "Use  the  best  first,  and  you  will  always 
have  the  best,"  he  ordered  that  the  beef-barrels 
should  be  broached  first;  and  as  the  voyage  was 


92  THE    HELM. 

short  we  used  no  other  water.  The  consequence 
was,  the  whole  ship's  company  was  afflicted  with  a 
violent  diarrhea.  It  fastened  on  me,  without  inter- 
mission, for  three  years.  On  our  return  the  captain 
was  sick,  and  heavy  duties  rested  on  me.  On  making 
the  coast  we  had  to  beat  and  knock  about  in  almost 
constant  snow-storms,  till  in  a  great  measure  ex- 
hausted. "When  we  arrived  I  received  the  first  sum 
of  money,  of  much  account,  which  I  had  ever 
earned. 

When  we  returned,  we  found  that  our  Govern- 
ment had  passed  the  non-intercourse  law,  interdict- 
ing commerce  with  both  England  and  France. 
Still  some  of  our  merchantmen  would  clear  out,  and 
manage  by  spurious  papers  to  evade  the  law.  One 
of  our  merchants  sent  for  me,  and  proposed  my 
taking  the  command  of  one  of  his  vessels.  I  told 
him  plainly  that  I  would  undertake  nothing  that 
involved  perjury,  let  consequences  be  what  they 
might.  Immediately  the  war  followed.  There  I 
was  like  a  fish  out  of  water.  I  can  not  convey  to 
the  reader,  unless  he  has  experienced  it,  the  sick- 
ening ennui  that  takes  possession  of  the  sailor  after 
he  has  been  a  few  weeks  on  shore.  It  is  this  which 
principally  continues  the  supply  and  unbroken  suc- 
cession. After  dreadful  disasters  at  sea,  it  is  amus- 
ing to  hear  the  unalterable  resolves  of  the  forecastle. 
One  will  say,  "Bloody  end  to  me,  if  I  am  ever 
caught  on  sea  again,  if  ever  I  put  my  foot  on  land. 
Why  should  I  be  knocked  about  all  my  days,  living 


SECOND    MATE — PKI VATEE RING.          93 

a  dog's  life,  and  no  thanks  for  it?  Why,  look  at 
the  farmer!  if  it  storms,  he  can  get  under  shelter 
with  his  wife  and  cubs,  and  can  look  out  of  his 
cabin  and  laugh  at  old  Boreas — 'blustering  railer !' 
What  a  happy  life  !" 

"Farmer!"  says  another,  "he's  a  gentleman,  I 
can  tell  you ;  and  it 's  because  we  are  his  lackeys 
to  carry  his  produce  at  the  expense  of  life  and 
limb.  I  would  rather  be  his  servant,  and  carry 
guts  to  a  bear,  than  to  live  this  dog-life." 

And  thus  they  will  growl  on,  and  resolve  and 
re-resolve — the  whole  crew,  going  home — to  dip 
their  feet  in  salt  water  no  more.  But,  after  they 
have  been  ashore  four  weeks,  the  prettiest  farm  in 
the  country  could  not  hold  them,  as  a  general 
thing.  "Come,  boys — who's  for  blue  water?" 

I  felt  this  longing  for  the  sea  again.  Life 
seemed  stripped  of  all  its  charms.  I  could  not, 
just  then,  get  a  place  in  the  navy  that  could  meet 
my  aspirations,  or  do  justice  to  the  feelings  of  my 
family  connections.  Then  came  in  the  well-timed 
temptation,  to  seek  a  prize-master's  berth  in  a 
privateer.  I  saw  plainly — with  my  religious  edu- 
cation it  could  not  be  otherwise — that  it  was,  mor- 
ally speaking,  a  dirty  business;  and  I  shall  ever 
adore  a  merciful  Providence  that  so  strangely  and 
mercifully  opened  up  for  me  a  way  of  escape. 
While  waiting  in  a  seaport,  expecting  a  very  suc- 
cessful privateer  to  come  in  from  her  cruise,  with 
the  prospect  of  getting  a  prize-master's  office,  I 


94  THE    HELM. 

received  a  letter  from  home,  stating  that  all  my 
young  friends  were  forming  a  volunteer  company, 
and  were  urgent  for  me  to  join  them.  This  touched 
a  nobler  chord  in  my  heart;  so  I  stuck  a  cockade 
in  my  hat,  and  returned  home. 

Have  not  Christian  nations,  at  least,  arrived  at 
that  point  of  moral  science  and  international  hon- 
esty, that  should  induce  them  to  abandon  the  prac- 
tice of  authorizing  the  shameful  enterprise  of  pri- 
vateering during  war — a  mode  of  reprisal  that 
brings  neither  profit  nor  glory  to  any  government; 
but  affliction,  and  ofttimes  ruin,  to  thousands  of 
private  citizens,  who  have  no  more  share  in  the 
injuries  perpetrated  by  their  nation  than  the  birds 
that  fly  over  their  heads. 

Privateering  is  robbery.  No  government  can  issue 
any  kind  of  letters  or  parchments  that  can  divest 
it  of  this  character  in  the  view  of  high  Heaven. 

When  a  privateer  takes  a  prize,  the  captives, 
generally,  are  exposed  to  as  much  insult  and  out- 
rage as  is  generally  inflicted  by  a  pirate;  with  the 
lone  exception  of  being  made  to  walk  the  plank — 
a  thing  which  no  civilized  people  would  tolerate. 

The  victors  generally  strip  their  prisoners  of  their 
personal  baggage,  their  change,  their  watches,  their 
clothes,  down  to  their  shirts  and  pantaloons,  and 
even  if  these  strike  their  fancy,  they  will  take 
them  in  exchange  for  some  of  their  cast-off  duds, 
if  that  may  be  called  "exchange"  where  one  party 
is  bound  to  submission  without  any  alternative. 


SECOND     MATE  —  PRIVATEERING-.        95 

It  may  be  said,  what  can  you  expect  of  such  un- 
principled buccaneers  as  commonly  man  a  privateer  ? 
But  the  whole  responsibility  does  not  rest  with 
them.  "With  all  their  natural  and  acquired  taste 
for  plunder  and  carnage,  they  would  be  compara- 
tively harmless,  but  for  the  impulse  of  those  who 
have  fitted  them  out,  and  who  claim  the  heft  of 
the  plunder.  And  who  are  they?  Most  frequently 
merchants,  who  embrace  this  opportunity  of  meanly 
robbing  on  the  high  seas,  those  with  whom  they 
formerly  stood  in  friendly  and  commercial  relations, 
with  whom  they  have  for  a  series  of  years  carried 
on  an  honest  and  lucrative  trade.  They  make  no 
other  apologies  for  their  infamous  robberies  than 
that  the  Government  has  legalized  them,  and  then 
they  laugh  heartily  at  the  fogy  fanatics  who  mum- 
ble about  a  higher  law. 

While  privateering  inflicts  much  suffering  on  the 
unoffending  citizens  of  the  enemy,  it  has  a  very 
disastrous  reaction  on  the  nation  that  institutes 
and  supports  it. 

It  lessens  the  dignity  of  a  government.  What 
civilized  nation  in  this  day  would  tolerate  the  prac- 
tice of  its  army  prosecuting  the  indiscriminate 
plunder  of  the  citizens  of  a  country  through  which 
they  might  be  marching  in  triumph?  When  Gen- 
eral Harrison  landed  on  the  shores  of  Canada,  he 
issued  general  orders  forbidding  his  soldiers  to 
touch  or  destroy  the  property  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  battalion  of  volunteers  to  which  we  belonged, 


96  THEHELM. 

although  they  had  been  nearly  twelve  months  in  a 
wilderness,  under  great  privations,  marched  every 
now  and  then  under  trees  bending  down  with 
the  most  delicious  peaches.  As  these  would  rattle 
against  our  helmets,  we  endured  temptation;  but 
a  proud  national  glory  swelled  our  bosoms,  under 
the  magnificence  of  the  scene.  But  what  right  have 
we  to  plunder  on  the  seas,  more  than  on  the  land? 

Patriotism  is  the  most  diminutive  motive  lurking 
in  the  bosom  of  a  privateersman.  He  fights  for 
himself,  and  not  for  his  country.  Indeed,  he  chooses 
not  to  fight  at  all,  provided  that  unarmed  and  de- 
fenseless game  can  be  found;  and  it  is  only  when 
by  fog  or  mishap  he  falls  in  with  an  armed  enemy, 
that  he  is  compelled  to  show  his  teeth,  and  then 
no  longer  than  he  can  devise  a  way  of  escape. 

"We  were  acquainted  with  a  captain,  who  in  the 
war  of  1812  commanded  a  privateer,  which  met 
with  singular  success.  He  was  at  one  time  unin- 
tentionally involved  in  a  dreadful  conflict,  and  ob- 
tained a  bloody  victory.  After  the  heat  of  battle 
was  over,  and  when  he  passed  along  the  decks  and 
saw  them  strewed  with  the  dead  and  wounded,  deep 
remorse  seized  his  spirit.  When  he  reflected  that 
all  this  murder  and  waste  of  life  was  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  accumulating  spoil,  he  was  filled  with 
compunction,  then  repentance;  and,  happily  for  him, 
a  repentance  not  to  be  repented  of.  He  scudded 
for  his  native  shores,  abandoned  the  privateer,  and 
became  a  humble  follower  of  Christ. 


SECOND     MATE  —  BE.  I  V  A  T  E  E  E  I  N  G-.        97 

While  lie  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  rob  the  un- 
armed and  unresisting,  his  eyes  were  closed  to 
the  enormity  of  the  crime;  but  this  profusion  of 
blood  and  screaming  agony  awoke  him  to  the  guilt 
and  madness  of  his  warfare. 

The  privateer  is  a  school  of  robbery,  a  sink  of 
pollution  to  poison  subjects  and  to  scatter  fire- 
brands, incendiaries,  and  rottenness,  through  a  whole 
nation.  It  cost  the  United  States  more  money  to 
sweep  the  Gulf  Stream  of  pirates,  in  time  of  peace, 
than  all  her  privateers  had  taken  during  the  war. 

And  when  we  see  a  government  authorizing  its 
citizens  to  take,  sink,  burn,  or  destroy  on  the  high 
seas,  we  think  of  the  advice  given  to  the  Philip- 
pian  jailer — "Do  thyself  no  harm." 

It  would  certainly  be  to  the  interest  and  glory 
of  all  nations  to  unite  in  putting  away  this  detest- 
able practice. 

9 


98  THE    ifWORD. 


VII. 

SOLDIER-LIFE. 

WHEN  the  news  of  Hull's  surrender  reached  the 
patriotic  town  of  Petersburg,  in  Virginia,  it  over- 
whelmed the  whole  population  with  indignation  and 
sorrow.  Some  of  the  most  popular  young  men, 
with  martial  music,  and  the  American  ensign, 
paraded  the  streets,  and  with  impassioned  appeals 
called  on  their  youthful  associates  to  march  to  the 
rescue.  The  scene  that  followed  was  soul-thrilling 
to  the  patriot.  Promising  young  men  sprung  their 
counters,  and  fell  into  the  ranks.  Students  of  med- 
icine and  law  shoved  aside  their  volumes,  suffi- 
ciently uninteresting  before,  but  now  made  abso- 
lutely irksome  by  the  ceaseless  din  of  war,  and 
rushed  to  the  standard.  The  mechanic  threw  the 
uplifted  hammer  from  his  hand  to  swell  the  train. 
The  placid  farmer  rode  to  town  to  behold  the  mad- 
ness of  the  people,  but  took  the  epidemic,  and  fell 
in.  And  in  a  few  days  a  company  of  one  hundred 
and  four,  richly  uniformed,  offered  themselves  to 
the  Government  to  serve  twelve  months  under  the 
banner  of  the  brave  Harrison.  No  married  man 
was  admitted  into  their  ranks.  There  is  no  inci- 


SOLDIER-LIFE.  99 

dent  of  merely  a  terrene  nature  that  ever  so 
swelled  our  bosom,  as  did  our  departure  from  that 
lovely  town — the  bright  scene  of  all  our  juvenile 

joy8- 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  day  the  company  marched 
to  "Center  Hill,"  which  overlooked  the  town. 
There  they  were  met  by  a  procession  of  women; 
while  two  elect  ladies,  bearing  a  stand  of  colors, 
richly  and  tastefully  ornamented,  presented  them  to 
the  company,  with  an  appropriate  address.  Being 
now  all  ready,  with  our  knapsacks  on  our  backs, 
and  all  accoutered  for  the  perilous  campaign,  we 
marched  down  through  the  town,  to  the  plaintive 
tune  of 

"  The  girls  we  've  left  behind  us." 

The  doors,  windows,  and  side-walks  were  crowded 
with  our  friends,  our  parents,  and  our  weeping  sis- 
ters. But  the  severest  cut  of  all  was  as  we  wheeled 
down  into  Bolingbrooke.  At  that  corner  the  princi- 
pal body  of  the  inhabitants  had  assembled  for  the 
purpose,  as  it  seemed,  of  giving  us  a  few  parting 
cheers.  But  they  had  not  counted  the  conflict.  It 
is  true,  they  simultaneously  lifted  their  hats;  but 
their  trembling  lips  grew  pale,  their  arms  fell  pow- 
erless to  their  sides,  and  a  silent  shower  of  tears 
betrayed  the  true  position  of  their  souls.  This  was 
a  season  of  deep  sorrow;  but  there  was  a  magna- 
nimity in  the  affliction  that  seemed  to  bear  us  up. 
Many  of  our  friends  followed  us  several  miles,  in 
carriages,  on  horseback,  and  on  foot;  but  it  only 


100  THE    SWORD. 

served  to  spring  our  tears  afresh  by  a  second  and 
more  personal  farewell. 

The  first  night  we  encamped  in  a  beautiful  grove 
near  Ware-Bottom  Church.  On  the  next  day  we 
made  our  entry  into  Richmond.  As  we  drew  nigh 
the  city,  all  the  troops  turned  out  to  escort  us  in. 
And,  surrounded  with  prancing  cavalry,  the  min- 
gling music  of  conflicting  bands,  drums,  and  trum- 
pets, covered  with  clouds  of  dust,  and,  as  our  simple 
hearts  thought,  with  glory  too,  we  entered  the  cap- 
ital. We  were  soon  marched  to  a  neighboring  grove, 
where  we  sat  down,  in  military  order,  to  the  festive 
board.  Among  the  first  visitors  at  our  quarters 
was  the  pious  Jesse  Lee,  who,  in  almost  every  sol- 
dier, recognized  the  son  of  some  highly-esteemed 
friend.  He  was  solicited  to  give  us  a  sermon.  To 
this  he  readily  agreed.  On  the  appointed  day  we 
marched  unarmed  to  the  church,  which  was  well 
filled  with  citizens  and  soldiers.  After  the  prelim- 
inary services,  he  took  for  his  text,  "Shall  your 
brethren  go  to  war,  and  shall  ye  sit  here?"  To 
show  how  even  religious  minds  are  tinged  with  the 
prevailing  contagion,  in  times  of  special  excitement, 
we  will  slightly  advert  to  his  course.  In  the  intro- 
duction he  solemnly  protested  against  the  spirit  of 
war — offensive  war — such  wars  as  were  undertaken 
to  aggrandize  a  throne,  to  acquire  territory,  or  to 
satiate  the  thirst  for  military  glory.  But,  first,  he 
proved — of  course  very  easily  to  us — that  the  pres- 
ent war  was  a  rare  exception.  England  had  more 


SOLDIER-LIFE.  101 

than  once  smitten  us  on  the  right  cheek,  and  we 
had  as  often  turned  unto  her  the  left.  Our  Gov- 
ernment had  shown  a  singular  example  of  Christian 
forbearance,  till  forbearance  had  ceased  to  be  a 
virtue.  The  wellbeing,  the  very  existence  of  our 
nation  depended  on  honorable  resistance.  Every 
citizen  was  an  integral  part  of  the  social  confeder- 
acy— he  was  a  partaker  of  all  the  immunities  and 
blessings  of  civil  government — he  was  protected  in 
his  person,  property,  and  character,  and  is  relig- 
iously bound  to  afford  his  quota  of  support.  The 
powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God,  yea,  they  are 
his  ministers,  appointed  for  this  very  thing,  and 
bear  not  the  sword  in  vain.  Therefore,  "render 
unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's."  Secondly, 
he  showed  the  spirit  in  which  war  should  be  waged. 
Here  he  descended  to  all  the  minutiae  of  the  sol- 
dier's duty  and  conduct;  and  he  gave  the  boys 
abundance  of  godly  advice,  and  showed  very  clearly 
that,  as  handsomely  equipped  as  we  were,  we  were 
lacking  in  a  very  important  article  of  defense — 
"  the  armor  of  righteousness,  on  the  right  hand 
and  on  the  left."  The  application  of  his  subject  he 
poured  with  scorching  severity  on  the  Eichmond 
youth.  With  all  the  sarcastic  and  biting  expression 
of  which  he  was  master — and  he  commanded  a 
legion  of  that  matter — he  turned  upon  them  and 
said,  "Will  ye  sit  here  and  see  your  brethren  go  to 
war?"  And  he  preached  not  as  one  that  beateth 
the  air  on  that  occasion ;  for  they  forthwith  organ- 


102  THE    SWORD. 

ized   a  volunteer  company  according  to  the  same 
pattern. 

We  took  up  our  line  of  march  and  pressed  on. 
The  rumor  of  our  coming,  and  the  knowledge  of 
our  daily  progress,  enabled  the  people  to  spread 
their  hospitalities  in  our  way;  so  that,  as  far  as 
eating  was  concerned,  we  frequently  had  nothing  to 
do  but  march  up  to  the  rural  board  and  partake  of 
the  smoking  barbecue.  Thus  we  "sat  down  to  eat, 
and  rose  up  to  play."  The  report  of  our  history, 
as  it  rolled  on  before,  became  highly  fabulous. 
"  Here  comes  the  flower  of  Old  Virginia !  every  man 
splendidly  equipped  at  his  own  expense!  They  find 
their  own  baggage-wagons,  bear  their  own  expense, 
and  there  is  n't  a  man  among  them  with  less  than  five 
hundred  dollars — pin-money!  Hurrah  for  Peters- 
burg! Old  Virginia  never  tire!"  The  people  flat- 
tered us,  and  cheered  us,  till  we  became  as  proud  as 
Lucifer.  Our  vanity,  however,  received  an  occa- 
sional check.  One  day  a  wagoner  had  much  ado  to 
hold  his  horses  in  a  narrow  pass  till  the  company 
got  by.  He,  however,  found  time  to  give  us  a  very 
quizzical  examination  in  detail;  and  as  soon  as  he 
got  sufficient  searoom  in  the  rear  to  give  us  a  rak- 
ing fire,  without  fear  of  reprisal,  he  cried  out  at  the 
top  of  his  voice,  "  I  have  heard  of  you  before,  boys. 
They  call  you  the  flower  of  the  land;  but  ye  mind 
me  of  the  old  saying,  'Fine  feathers  make  fine 
birds;'  but  if  you  an't  as  ugly  a  set  of  chaps  as  Old 
Virginia  ever  hatched,  I  '11  give  you  my  head  for  a 


SOLDIER-LIFE.  103 

football."  We,  however,  consoled  ourselves  with, 
the  surmise,  that  for  this  compliment  we  were  more 
indebted  to  the  wrath  into  which  his  horses  had 
wrought  him,  than  to  his  skill  in  physiognomy. 
Indeed,  the  volunteers  were  generally  handsome. 
Petersburg  was  always  celebrated  for  its  beauties, 
male  and  female.  It  is  true  we  had  some  very 
hard  cases,  almost  enough  to  make  the  eyes  of  the 
wagoner  ache.  Perhaps  some  comical  lady  reader, 
who  knows  the  author,  may  say,  "Yes,  and  we  will 
plank  you  down  with  the  proscribed  remnant." 
Well,  be  it  so;  but  if  so,  we  must,  in  justice  to  the 
town  in  this  particular,  say,  we  were  not  exactly 
born  there;  but  those  of  the  family  who  were,  were 
right — good-looking. 

Monticello  lay  in  our  route,  or  rather  we  made  it 
so  lie,  that  we  might  have  a  sight  of  Virginia's 
favorite  sage.  We  drew  up,  in  military  array,  at 
the  base  of  the  hill  on  which  the  great  house  was 
erected.  About  half  way  down  the  hill  stood  a 
very  homely  old  man,  dressed  in  plain  Virginia 
cloth,  his  head  uncovered,  and  his  venerable  locks 
flowing  in  the  wind.  Some  of  our  quizzical  clique 
at  once  marked  him  as  a  fit  subject  of  fun.  "I 
wonder,"  said  one,  "what  old  codger  that  is,  with 
his  hair  blowing  nine  ways  for  Easter  Monday." 
"Why,  of  course,"  said  another,  "it  is  the  overseer, 
and  he  seems  to  be  scared  out  of  a  year's  growth. 
I  suspect  he  never  saw  gentlemen  volunteers 
before."  But  how  were  we  astonished  when  he 


104 


THE    SWORD. 


advanced  to  our  officers  and  introduced  himself  as 
THOMAS  JEFFERSON!  The  officers  were  invited  in 
to  a  collation,  while  we  were  inarched  off  to  the 
town,  where  more  abundant  provision  had  been 
made. 

The  most  interesting  prospect  we  had  was  when 
we  first  came  in  view  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  It  ap- 
peared, in  the  distance,  like  a  dark  wall  stretched 
along  the  horizon,  and  piled  to  the  heavens.  We 
could  not  but  admire  the  scene;  yet  our  pleasure  in 
beholding  it  was  considerably  abated  when  we  con- 
templated the  Herculean  task  of  scaling  it  on  the 
morrow.  At  that  distance  it  presented  a  uniform 
surface,  and  seemed  to  forebode  an  almost  perpendic- 
ular ascent.  Since  that  period  we  have  been  better 
qualified  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  old  proverb, 
"Do  not  climb  the  mountain  till  you  get  to  it." 
When  we  arrived  at  its  base  our  road  wound  up  a 
dark  ravine.  True,  when  we  would  look  ahead,  an 
insurmountable  barrier  seemed  to  stretch  athwart 
our  way;  but  when  arrived  at  the  apparent  diffi- 
culty our  tortuous  pathway  presented  a  gentle 
ascent,  sometimes  a  comfortable  level,  and  occasion- 
ally a  little  valley.  And  when  we  supposed  our 
troubles  were  merely  beginning,  we  received  the 
happy  announcement  that  we  had  surmounted  all, 
and  were  wending  our  way  down  into  the  valley  of 
the  West.  So  it  is  in  our  journey  through  life. 
How  often  does  the  pilgrim  fret  about  troubles 
ahead,  which  loom  higher  than  the  Blue  Ridge — 


SOLDIEE-LIFE. 

mountains  which  he  may  never  reach;  and  even  if 
he  does,  the  Lord  leads  him  by  a  way  that  he  had 
not  known !  So  the  proverb  is  worthy  of  a  binding 
in  the  Apocrypha  at  least. 

We  had  not  traveled  a  hundred  miles  before  the 
whole  corps  were  called  after  a  new  nomenclature, 
our  proper  names  being  current  only  on  the  muster-- 
roll. One  was  "Old  Hickory,"  another  "Plantation 
Joe,"  another  "Hog-face-Tom,"  "Sinbad,"  etc. 

From  our  childhood,  we  had  considered  the  Blue 
Eidge  to  be  the  grand  scenery  of  all  backwoods  ro- 
mance. So  it  was  natural  for  our  straggling  men 
to  expect  a  bear,  or  a  tiger,  or  something  else,  to 
pounce  upon  them  from  every  thicket.  One  day  we 
came  to  an  encampment,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
below  a  plantation.  One  of  the  boys  was  left  con- 
siderably in  the  rear.  Pushing  on  through  the 
dusk  of  the  evening,  he  saw  a  hideous  animal 
crouched  up  in  the  corner  of  the  fence;  and  having 
no  doubt  concerning  its  genus,  he  blazed  away  with 
his  musket,  and  running  in  full  speed  to  the  camp, 
he  cried  out,  "Boys,  I  have  killed  a  bear!  I  have 
killed  a  bear!"  Some  said,  "How  do  you  know  it 
is  a  bear?  have  you  ever  seen  one  before?"  "No, 
but;  laws !  did  n't  I  see  its  bristles  when  it  was  all 
ready  to  spring  upon  me?  and  it  was  exactly  like 
the  pictures  you  've  seen  in  the  primers.  Certainly 
it  is  a  bear,  and  we  '11  go  and  get  it  as  soon  as  it  is 
daylight."  Away  he  went  from  camp-fire  to  camp- 
fire,  boasting  of  his  exploit.  But  before  he  got 


106  9    THE     SWORD. 

through  the  lines  an  old  farmer  made  his  appearance 
at  head-quarters,  and  claimed  indemnity  for  an  old 
black  sow  that  one  of  the  soldiers  had  shot. 

Except  when  passing  places  of  notoriety,  the  com- 
pany proceeded  in  an  informal  march.  On  such 
occasions  all  the  blunders  and  improprieties  of  the 
preceding  day  and  night  were  canvassed  in  cate- 
chetical form.  One,  for  instance,  would  cry  out 
with  a  loud  voice,  "Who  tried  to  kiss  that  girl  last 
night,  and  was  shoved  over  into  the  wash-tub?"  The 
whole  line  would  respond,  "T.  C."  "Who  shot  the 
old  sow,  and  said  it  was  a  bear?"  "Why,  C.  W." 
From  such  popular  decisions  there  was  no  appeal. 

But  the  report,  "They  are  coming!  they  are 
coming!"  climbed  the  mountains,  and  rolled  on 
before  us;  and  the  hospitality  of  our  countrymen 
was  prodigious.  Pressing  on  by  the  way  of  the 
Springs,  down  the  Kanawha,  and  crossing  the  Ohio 
at  Mt.  Pleasant,  we  at  last  arrived  at  Chillicothe. 
Here  the  Legislature,  which  was  then  in  session, 
gave  us  a  splendid  dinner,  which  was  quickly  fol- 
lowed by  one  from  the  citizens.  Here  the  festivals 
of  Virginia  were  thrown  entirely  in  the  shade;  for 
we  had  not  only  the  substantials,  the  bacon  and 
cabbage  of  the  Old  Dominion,  but  fowls  and  turkeys, 
pies,  tarts,  custards,  and  sweetmeats,  and  floating- 
islands,  and  all  the  luxurious  variety  that  the  gen- 
erous daughters  of  the  Buckeye  State  could  devise. 
Surely,  we  thought,  there  was  nothing  like  the 
glory  and  honor  of  war.  But,  alas !  it  was  the  lus- 


SOLDIER-LIFE.  107 

cious  finale  of  all  our  military  glory!  It  is  true, 
we  had  fed,  and  feasted,  and  frolicked  for  a  few 
short  weeks,  and  our  march  thus  far  had  been  like 
a  triumphal  procession.  But  0,  how  short  our  tri- 
umph! how  vulgar  our  happiness! 

"We  ate — drank — slept.     What  then? 
We  ate,  and  drank,  and  slept  again." 

And  this  was  the  total  amount  of  all  our  joy;  and 
0,  how  dearly  bought! 

Our  "Indian  Summer"  was  now  gone — our  "paw- 
wah"  days  were  over.  As  we  left  Chillicothe  the 
bleak  North- Wester  began  to  blow,  the  rains  de- 
scended, and  the  snows  drove  till  the  face  of  the 
whole  country  was  clothed  with  the  white,  cold 
mantle  of  Winter.  Through  mud,  and  ice,  and 
storms,  and  swollen  streams  we  forced  our  way  to 
Franklinton,  which  was  then  the  head-quarters  of 
the  army.  For  the  twelve  succeeding  months  our 
tender  volunteers,  most  of  whom  had  not  passed 
their  twentieth  year,  and  in  their  fathers'  houses 
"had  never  waked  but  to  a  joyful  morning,"  were 
exposed  to  labors,  dangers,  deprivations,  afflictions, 
and  deaths,  of  which  their  youthful  minds  had  never 
conceived.  Often  did  they  realize  the  prodigal 
state  —  the  prodigal  recollections,  "in  my  father's 
house  there  is  bread  and  to  spare."  But  it  was  not 
for  them,  but  for  Uncle  Sam,  to  say  when  they 
might  arise  and  return  to  the  fathers  and  mothers, 
and  brothers  and  sisters.  0,  these  words  were 


108  THE    SWORD. 

precious  in  those  days.  But  we  now  had  no  abiding 
city — no  May-days  and  holydays.  We  moved  on 
through  the  plat  of  Columbus,  where  there  was,  at 
that  time,  only  one  house  erected  —  albeit,  we  left 
Franklinton  in  its  meridian  glory.  Through  most 
intolerable  roads,  and  severe  weather,  we  reached 
the  town  of  Delaware,  which  was  even  then  a  hand- 
some village.  But  before  reaching  this  desirable 
spot,  we  were  frequently  stalled,  and  our  baggage- 
wagons  broken  down.  Delaware  was  the  ultima 
thule  of  American  civilization,  as  far  as  our  route 
was  concerned.  We  passed  only  one  cabin  between 
it  and  Sandusky.  The  plains  of  Crawford  presented 
nothing  but  a  wild  waste  of  crusted  snow,  through 
which  we  marched  with  excessive  labor. 

When  we  reached  the  embodied  host,  on  the  bank 
of  the  Sandusky,  our  little  band  seemed  to  mingle 
as  an  atom  in  the  long-extended  line.  At  day-break 
the  whole  force  was  mustered,  in  rank  and  file,  on 
the  high  banks  of  the  river.  The  united  music  of 
the  army  passed  down  the  line;  but  truly  it  was 
"music  of  melancholy  sort."  It  was  not  the  lively 
tune  of  "Yankee  Doodle,"  "The  Soldier's  Return," 
or  any  of  those  rapturous  airs  so  sweetly  played  at 
the  recruiting  rendezvous,  to  lure  the  inebriate  to 
his  doom;  but  it  was  an  inexplicable  breathing  of 
war  and  blood,  which,  in  unison  with  the  desolation 
around,  forced  us,  in  one  moment,  to  realize  all  that 
we  had  ever  read  or  listened  to  of  Revolutionary 
lore.  Our  feast  of  "marrow  and  fat  things"  had  also 


SOLDIER-LIFE.  109 

fled;  and  "soldier's  fare"  was  the  order  of  the  day. 
When  our  rations  were  first  issued,  while  every  man 
was  hearty,  and  our  appetites  keen,  our  allowance 
was  beggarly  enough.  But  after  a  few  cases  of 
sickness  and  spells  of  hypo,  our  stores  began  to  ac- 
cumulate, and  we  had  enough  provision,  such  as  it 
was ;  but  it  was  not  the  hams  of  Virginia,  or  the  tur- 
keys and  tidbits  of  Ohio,  but  fresh  beef  and  pork,  and 
that  frequently  without  a  dust  of  salt.  The  bread, 
which  was  sometimes  made  of  damaged  flour,  was 
truly  disgusting.  This,  however,  was  a  small  item 
in  the  registry  of  our  sufferings.  While  encamped 
at  Sandusky,  it  was  issued  in  general  orders  that 
the  chaplain  would  preach  on  the  Sabbath.  Our 
readers  can  scarcely  imagine  what  interest  -this 
waked  up  in  our  ranks.  Even  the  most  irreligious 
have  a  kind  of  property  or  claim  in  the  Gospel  that 
they  are  not  sensible  of  till  the  privilege  is  appar- 
ently clean  gone  forever.  At  the  appointed  hour, 
the  entire  army  was  marched  into  the  hollow  square, 
the  General  and  his  staff  in  the  center.  The  preach- 
er took  for  his  text,  "And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Moses,  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel  that  they 
go  forward."  He  first  gave  a  historical  account  of 
the  Israelites,  and  held  them  up  as  a  lucid  example 
of  all  that  is  martial,  patriotic,  and  glorious.  He 
secondly  made  a  most  bombastic  application  of  the 
text  to  our  militia,  warmly  exhorting  them  to  cross, 
not  Jordan,  but  the  line,  and  to  take  possession,  not 
of  Canaan,  but  Canada:  "The  bones  of  the  gal- 


110  THE    SWORD. 

lant  Crawford,  which  lie  bleaching  in  yonder  plain, 
cry  out,  move  forward.  The  blood  of  the  brave  Mont- 
gomery from  the  walls  of  Quebec  cries  out,  march 
forward."  And  thus  he  went  on  till  his  effusions 
were  found  to  be  hateful;  for  whatever  merit  his 
speech  would  have  possessed,  coming  from  a  proper 
source,  and  on  a  proper  occasion,  as  a  Gospel  ser- 
mon, it  was  monstrous.  And  this  he  might  have 
perceived  by  the  simultaneous  artificial  coughing 
that  pervaded  the  whole  square.  The  General  ap- 
peared to  be  mortified.  "We  were  pleased  to  find, 
in  after  years,  that  he  hated  all  such  untimely  and 
misplaced  zeal.  He  has  been  heard  to  say  that  a 
chaplain  is  an  indispensable  officer  in  the  army; 
but  *no  post,  no  department  requires  a  more  exem- 
plary and  evangelical  minister. 

It  was  midnight,  the  ground  covered  with  snow, 
the  heavens  profusely  flaking  down  additional  sup- 
plies, and  our  heavy-laden  tents  were  rocked  to  and 
fro  by  the  howling  winds,  when  the  troops  were 
suddenly  aroused  by  a  call  to  arms.  Orders  were 
given  for  us  to  buckle  on  our  knapsacks  and  blank- 
ets, and  to  be  ready  to  march  at  a  moment's  warn- 
ing. In  a  few  minutes  we  were  plunged  into  the 
dark  and  almost  interminable  forest,  bound  through 
the  Black  Swamp  to  reenforce  Harrison,  who,  after 
Winchester's  defeat,  had  fallen  back  on  the  Carry- 
ing River.  It  was  a  dark,  dark  night.  An  expe- 
rienced pilot  led  the  van,  and  the  whole  detachment 
followed  in  Indian-file,  every  man  taking  care  to 


SOLDIER-LIFE.  Ill 

keep  in  feeling  relation  to  his  predecessor.  We 
plunged  and  floundered  on  through  brush  and  brier, 
deep  creeks,  and  rising  waters,  mingled  with  drift 
and  ragged  fragments  of  ice.  Like  Paul  and  his 
shipmates,  "we  longed  for  the  day;"  but  when 
light  broke  upon  us,  it  seemed  to  augment  our 
wretchedness  by  calling  into  painful  exercise  an  ad- 
ditional sense,  and  greatly  enlarging  the  scene  of 
desolation.  "We  had  frequently  to  pass  through 
what  was  called,  in  the  provincialism  of  the  front- 
iers, "swales" — standing  ponds — through  which  the 
troops  and  packhors'es  which  had  preceded  us  had 
made  a  trail  of  shattered  ice.  Those  swales  were 
often  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long.  They  were,  more- 
over, very  unequal  in  their  soundings.  In  common 
they  were  not  more  than  half-leg  deep;  but  some- 
times, at  a  moment  when  we  were  not  expecting  it, 
we  suddenly  sank  down  to  our  cartridge-boxes. 
While  fording  such  places  our  feet  would  get  so  be- 
numbed that  we  seemed  to  be  walking  on  bundles 
of  rags;  and  it  was  really  a  luxury  to  come  to  a 
parenthesis  of  mud  and  mire,  for  then  we  could  feel 
a  returning  glow  of  vitality.  Occasionally  a  poor 
packhorse  would  fall  down  in  his  track  —  if  tracks 
there  were — to  rise  no  more  forever.  It  was  heart- 
rending to  see  them  roll  their  flashing  eyes  indig- 
nantly on  the  passing  soldiers,  as  though  to  rebuke 
the  madness  of  the  people  in  driving  to  such  an 
extremity  of  suffering.  Droves  of  hogs,  which  had 
been  abandoned  to  the  wilds,  grim,  gaunt,  and  hun- 


112  THE     SWORD. 

gry  as  the  grave,  were  squealing  through  the 
woods,  and  rooting  up  the  snow;  and  under  the 
relentless  scourge  of  war  the  whole  creation  seemed 
to  groan  in  pain.  "We  passed  one  of  our  subaltern 
officers,  who  was  trembling  like  an  aspen,  and  be- 
seeching every  soldier  for  a  dram,  declaring  that  he 
would  perish  in  a  few  minutes  if  not  supplied. 
Poor  fellow!  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  keeping 
himself  always  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  and 
his  supply  had  failed  him  in  this  day  of  affliction. 
By  draining  several  canteens,  he  obtained  enough 
to  drag  him  through  the  horrors  of  the  day.  Some 
may  think  that  we  are  exaggerating,  but  several  of 
our  young  men  afterward  fell  victims  to  diseases 
which  were  engendered  by  the  march  through  the 
Slack  Swamp. 

The  reaching  of  Hull's  road  was  a  grand  desider- 
atum. It  is  true  we  had  never  heard  it  spoken  of, 
by  those  who  had  seen  it,  except  in  terms  of  unqual- 
ified execration;  but  still  it  was  a  road,  and  there 
was  a  kind  of  redeeming  sound  in  the  phrase  that 
struck  pleasantly  on  the  drum  of  our  ear.  At  last 
a  triumphant  peal  in  the  van  announced  its  appear- 
ance. We  were  not  slow  in  rushing  to  the  point  of 
observation.  But,  0 !  the  burst  of  indignation  that 
followed!  Sure  enough  the  Hull  was  there,  and  an 
occasional  patch  of  corduroy,  and  there  had  evi- 
dently been  an  opening  made  through  the  dense 
forest;  but  the  road,  if  there  ever  had  been  any, 
had  been  mostly  washed  away  before  our  time. 


SOLDIER-LIFE.  113 

» 

The  first  night  and  day  we  traveled,  through  all 
those  disadvantages,  thirty  miles.  At  a  late  hour 
we  approached  an  arena  which  bore  a  strong  resem- 
blance to  terra  firma;  and  scraping  away  the  snow, 
we  spread  our  blankets  under  the  naked  canopy  of 
heaven;  for  at  the  time  of  our  departure  from  San- 
dusky  we  had  left  our  tents  standing,  with  all  our 
camp  equipage.  How  long  we  lay  that  night  in  a 
shivering  condition  before  we  fell  asleep  we  could 
never  ascertain;  but  I  awoke  in  the  morning  from 
pleasant  dreams,  and  in  a  profuse  perspiration,  and, 
as  I  thought,  under  a  heavy  press  of  blankets;  but 
when  I  threw  up  my  arm  to  take  an  observation, 
and  to  see  how  the  land  lay,  an  avalanche  of  virgin 
snow,  which  had  silently  ministered  to  my  comfort 
during  the  night,  tumbled  into  my  bosom,  and 
quickly  roused  me  to  a  recollection  of  my  proper 
latitude  and  true  bearings,  and  I  found,  by  calcula- 
tion, that  I  was  bounded  north,  south,  east,  and 
west,  by  the  Black  Swamp. 

Reader,  bear  with  me,  but  I  begin  to  feel  sick 
about  my  heart  at  the  mere  recollection  of  such 
scenes.  And  besides  all  this  I  am  sensible  that  I 
have  written  enough  for  one  chapter;  but  it  would 
savor  of  impoliteness  to  leave  the  readers  of  this 
narrative  so  abruptly  in  the  quagmire.  Perhaps  I 
might  give  a  more  ship-shape  finish  by  setting 
them  to  read  a  short  annual  written  by  my  brother, 
which  I  received  in  those  troublous  days,  and  which 

lightened  up  my  own  spirits  while  committing  it  to 

10 


114  THE    SWORD. 

memory.     It  was  in  perfect  tune  with  the  times. 
It  runs  thus: 

Since  now,  my  patrons,  we  have  reason 

T"  exchange  the  hest  salutes  of  the  season — 

Since  fate  has  granted  that  together 

One  year  of  wonders  we  should  weather, 

Mid  comets,  earthquakes,  storms  and  all, 

Along  unhurt  our  course  to  roll; 

And  thereby  hang  some  tales  of  humor, 

But  now,  alas!  put  out  of  rumor, 

By  one  continual  din  of  war, 

And  heroes  marching  near  and  far, 

To  dress  Montgomery's  tomb  ; 

And  brigadiers  of  sorry  doom! 

Then  Harrison,  in  awful  might, 

Boldly  rushing  to  the  fight, 

Bent  on  purpose  grand  and  glorious, 

His  banners  move  in  course  victorious. 

Not  so  was  he  who  led  the  van, 

A  route  the  muse  could  never  scan. 

Through  many  a  street  and  many  an  alley — 

Through  many  a  wild,  umbrageous  valley, 

His  standard  boastful  threats  conveyed, 

And  loud  to  arms  the  drumsticks  played. 

The  sons  of  spunk  obey  the  call, 

And  shoulder  musket,  one  add  all — 

To  Campus  Martius  bend  their  way, 

And  soon  are  formed  in  proud  array, 

And  hail  the  mighty  battle  day ! 

Before  the  lines  a  curious  creature, 

With  dappled  shirt  and  hickory  feature, 

And  pipe  of  true  Moravian  mold, 

Thus  broke  in  accents  big  and  bold : 

"  I  am  •— ;  believe  me,  't  is  no  rant — 

I    am   your  noble  commandant. 

'T  is  true,  I  'm  not  in  style  of  war, 

But  that  is  well  accounted  for: 

I  've  lent  my  coat — I  've  lost  my  sash — 

My  epaulets  are  in  the  wash — 

My  sword  I  do  not  choose  to  trust 

To  run  the  hazard  of  a  rust; 


SOLDIER-LIFE.  115 

For  bright  it  is,  and  well  you  know, 
That  while  it  'a  mine  it  shall  be  so. 

These  Indians  look  too  nation  red; 
Our  stomachs,  too,  are  scarce  of  oread; 
And,  what  is  worse,  we  have  forgot 
To  bring  the  powder  and  the  shot. 
So  ground  your  arms,  ye  dirty  pack ! 
Let  Dr.  Eustis  get  you  back." 
So  spite  of  frown,  and  spite  of  pout, 
The  word  's  given,  "  To  the  sneak  about!" 
Go  seek  your  hero  at  his  home — 
Go  seek  him  on  the  ocean  foam ; 
There  British  guineas  can  not  gull, 
And  there  Columbia  owns  her  Hull. 


116  THE    SWORD. 


VIII. 

SIEGE    OF    FORT    MEIQS. 

WE  were  writing  something  about  Hull's  road. 
It  was  certainly  an  extraordinary  structure.  Here 
and  there  we  found  a  fragment  of  rail-road,  not  of 
the  modern,  but  Gothic  order.  But  for  the  most  of 
the  way  the  rails  had  been  routed  in  disorder  by 
the  swales,  and  scattered  in  every  direction  and 
various  forms,  angular  and  triangular,  vertical  and 
horizontal,  visible  and  invisible,  so  that  our  ankles 
at  times  appeared  to  be  extremely  loth  to  acknowl- 
edge our  footsteps.  At  other  times  we  were  scraped, 
and  snagged,  and  railed.  And  then  we  would  get 
our  temper  up  and  rail  back  again ;  and  it  was  rail- 
ing against  railing.  Then  old  General  Hull  came 
in  for  his  share  of  blessings,  and  Winchester  was 
not  forgotten.  But  our  only  hope  was  in  progress; 
and  after  a  forced  march,  which  could  find  no  pro- 
totype— as  we  believed — in  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, we  joined  the  army  on  the  banks  of  the  Port- 
age. As  we  marched  in  every  man  was  presented 
with  a  small  glass  of  "high  wine."  When  I  drank 
my  allowance,  it  produced  an  indescribable  titilla- 
tion,  reaching  to  the  ends  of  my  toes  and  fingers, 
and  appeared  to  spread  a  new  world  upon  my  vision. 


SIEGE    OF    FORT    MEIGS.  117 

I  have  for  many  years  been  a  strenuous  advocate 
of  the  temperance  cause;  but  whenever  I  hear  a 
lecturer  say  that  spirits  have  never  done  good  under 
any  circumstances,  I  deliberately  enroll  the  dogma 
with  clairvoyance,  witchcraft,  and  similar  delusions. 
It  is  true  that  strong  drink  has  seldom  done  good. 
And  of  all  the  drams  that  moistened  my  lips,  before 
I  embraced  religion,  that  alone  can  I  remember 
with  complacency,  because  it  was  Scripturally 
administered — "to  him  who  was  ready  to  perish." 
This  is  no  argument  for  intemperance;  for  what 
was  that  transient  benefit  in  comparison  with  the 
wide-spread  ruin  which  overwhelmed  many  of  our 
company  in  after-life  ?  It  was  in  the  service  that 
some  were  initiated  into,  and  others  confirmed  in 
the  habit  of  intemperance,  which  rapidly  hurried 
them  on  to  the  most  deplorable  destiny.  And  we 
do  most  devoutly  pray  that  the  day  may  speedily 
come,  when  Temperance  will  evaporate  the  last 
intoxicating  drop  from  earth  by  the  brightness  of 
her  shining. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  we  had  left  all  our 
private  stores  behind,  and  had  to  commence  on  a 
new  issue  of  rations.  Although  the  United  States 
owed  us  several  successive  back  meals,  yet  these 
were  silently  repudiated,  and  our  allowance  by  no 
means  satisfied  the  demands  of  appetite.  However, 
we  had  ground  to  lie  on,  and  rousing  fires  to  cheer 
us  through  the  night.  About  midnight  a  sudden 
volley  of  cries,  wailings,  and  unearthly  howlings 


118  THE    SWORD. 

broke  from  every  quarter  of  the  dense  forest  around 
us.  The  raw  troops,  who  had  never  experienced 
any  thing  analogous,  "in  the  void  waste  or  in  the 
city  full,"  took  it  for  granted  that  all  the  northern 
tribes  were  charging  upon  us,  front,  flank,  and  rear, 
and  they  sprung  to  their  feet.  Pop !  pop !  pop ! 
went  the  sentinels.  "To  arms!  to  arms!"  cried  the 
officers;  and  in  a  few  minutes  all  the  brave  reen- 
forcement  was  found  in  battle  array.  Just  then  an 
old  veteran  came  snickering  along  the  lines  with 
his  forefinger  on  his  nose:  "Boys,  did  you  never 
hear  the  wolves  howl  before  ?"  It  is  wonderful  how 
those  false  alarms,  frequently  repeated,  strengthen 
the  courage  and  improve  the  prudence  of  the  sol- 
dier! This,  the  first,  was  perhaps  the  greatest 
alarm  we  had.  It  showed  us  how  careless  and  how 
unprepared  we  were.  The  scrambling  and  scuffling 
in  the  dark,  for  our  arms  and  accouterments,  were 
truly  ludicrous.  The  interruption  of  rest  added 
keenness  to  our  hunger,  so  that  we  were  more  than 
prepared  for  our  scanty  allowance  next  morning. 
The  flour  which  each  man  received  made  a  very 
respectable  biscuit  when  kneaded.  The  great  diffi- 
culty seemed  to  be  as  to  the  modus  operandi  of 
cooking.  Our  culinary  utensils  were  left  behind, 
and  we  had  not  as  yet  been  let  into  the  Indian 
mode  of  twisting  the  dough  around  a  stake,  and 
setting  it  up  before  the  fire  to  roast.  After  a  brief 
consultation,  we  settled  on  the  African  method,  and 
concluded  that  we  could  get  our  cakes  through  in 


SIEGE    OF    FORT    MEIGS.  119 

the  ash-pone  style.  So  covering  them  cleverly  with 
ashes  and  embers,  we  were  about  to  broil  our  pit- 
tance of  meat,  when  the  drum  suddenly  beat  to 
arms.  We  buckled  on  our  armor,  hoping  it  was 
some  new-fashioned  morning  drill,  or  that  some 
general  order  was  about  to  be  promulged.  It  was 
in  vain  for  the  subalterns  to  pass  down  the  line 
and  say,  "Dress — dress — dress  by  the  right!"  for 
we  could  not  keep  our  eyes  from  glancing  askance 
toward  our  smoking  cakes,  which  we  were  fearful 
were  dressing  too  fast  for  the  occasion.  But  what 
was  our  extreme  disappointment  when  the  luckless 
word  came,  and  from  high  authority,  "Bight  face! 
forward  march !"  Our  legs,  being  as  practiced  as 
stage-horses',  began  to  beat  time;  but  our  eyes, 
although  carried  away,  still  had  independence 
enough  to  cast  "  many  a  longing,  lingering  look 
behind."  Some  of  our  boys,  who  seemed  to  be  of 
that  class  who  have  a  free  pass  through  the  world, 
"blow  high,  or  blow  low,"  dodged  into  the  bush,  as 
we  cleared  the  encampment,  and  returning  to  the 
fires,  gathered  a  rich  harvest  of  ash-pone  and  spare- 
ribs,  and  thus  profited  by  the  general  calamity. 
The  majority,  however,  had  a  very  afflicting  march, 
without  tasting  any  food  the  whole  day.  The  next 
point  of  importance  which  we  reached  was  the 
Maumee,  or  the  Miami  of -the  Lakes.  Here  the 
army  was  halted  awhile,  as  though  to  view  the  des- 
olate prospect  around.  On  the  opposite  bank  stood 
l£e  ruins  of  the  post  that  had  lately  been  aban- 


120  THE    SWORD. 

doned.  After  a  short  consultation  among  the  offi- 
cers, we  were  marched  down  upon  the  frozen  river, 
in  solid  order,  with  all  our  heavy  ordnance  and 
baggage,  to  proceed  to  the  Foot  of  the  Rapids. 
Here  we  were  presented  with  a  lovely  road,  that 
human  ingenuity  could  not  imitate.  But  we  were 
somewhat  in  the  condition  of  old  Bob  Armstead, 
who  used  to  say,  "When  I  was  a  young  man,  and 
was  poor,  and  had  nothing  to  eat,  I  had  a  beautiful 
set  of  teeth ;  but  now  I  am  old  and  rolling  in  plenty, 
not  a  tooth  have  I  got."  So  when  we  were  strong, 
and  had  sufficient  elasticity  to  march,  we  had  no 
roads  to  march  on.  But  now,  when  we  were 
exhausted  and  starved,  and  could  hardly  drag  one 
foot  after  the  other,  we  had  as  beautiful  a  turnpike 
as  Jack  Frost  could  make.  We  were,  however, 
helped  by  the  philosophy  of  a  good  man,  who,  when 
he  had  the  rheumatism,  thanked  the  Lord  it  was 
not  the  gout ;  and  when  he  had  the  gout,  he  was 
thankful  that  it  was  not  the  gout  and  rheumatism 
together.  Late  in  the  day  our  route  lay  through  a 
rich  bottom,  where  there  were  about  fifteen  hund- 
red bushels  of  corn  standing.  As  soon  as  we  entered 
this  inviting  field  the  army  broke  in  every  direction, 
like  a  drove  of  frightened  cattle.  Deaf  to  the  com- 
mands of  our  officers,  and  regardless  of  all  military 
order,  we  tore  down  the  precious  ears,  and  filled 
our  pockets  and  our  bosoms  till  we  were  richly 
laden  with  the  spoils  of  the  field.  With  the  musket 
in  one  hand,  and  an  ear  of  corn  in  the  other,  we 


SIEGE    OF    FORT    MEIGS.  121 

marched  on,  greedily  devouring  the  unstinted  sup- 
ply of  a  merciful  Providence.  No  pound-cake  ever 
tasted  half  so  delicious,  till  the  wire-edge  of  our 
starvation  was  worn  off.  We  were  amazed  that  we 
had  lived  so  long  in  the  world,  and  had  never  dis- 
covered before  the  transcendent  luxury  of  raw  corn. 
Toward  evening,  we  arrived  at  the  Foot  of  the 
Rapids,  as  it  was  then  called.  Here  we  were  met 
by  an  appalling  object.  Our  rangers  had  brought 
in  the  body  of  one  who  had  a  few  days  before  left 
our  camp  for  Detroit,  in  company  with  Doctor 
M'Heehan,  under  the  protection  of  a  white  flag. 
It  seems  they  had  stopped  the  first  night  on  the 
banks  of  the  Maumee,  and  taken  up  their  lodging 
in  an  old  cellar,  which  was  all  that  remained  of  an 
improvement  which  once  occupied  the  site.  Here 
they  were  surprised  by  a  party  of  Indians,  the 
Doctor  taken  prisoner,  and  his  companion  shot  and 
scalped.  When  we  came  up,  we  saw  Major  L.,  of 
the  Virginia  militia,  spreading  himself  over  the 
corpse,  and  with  all  the  fervor  and  pathos  of  Mark 
Antony,  addressing  his  men,  and  calling  upon  them 
to  behold  the  cruelty  of  the  savage  foe,  and  to  hate 
their  red-coat  allies  who  had  prompted  them  to  the 
revolting  deed:  "Drink  in — drink  in  the  spirit  of 
noble  revenge !  stiffen  your  sinews,  summon  up  your 
joints,  and  nerve  your  vengeful  arms  for  deeds  of 
mighty  daring!"  Seeing  several  men  turn  away 
sufficiently  infuriated,  I  marched  up  to  see  if  I 

could  be   inspired  with   the  same  desirable  ardor; 

11 


122  THE    SWOED. 

for  it  seemed  to  be  in  horrid  harmony  with  the 
dreariness  of  the  surrounding  scenery.  I  looked 
down  upon  the  corpse,  which  wore  all  the  freshness 
and  bloom  of  life,  and  contracted  my  muscles,  and 
clinched  my  teeth,  and  held  my  breath,  and  put 
forth  every  device,  mental  and  physical,  in  courting 
the  furies,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  I  felt  no  fell 
spirit  of  vengeance  gnawing  at  my  heart.  Despite 
of  my  late  supply  of  provender,  the  sensation  of 
hunger  was  the  dominant  distress  within.  I  saw 
that  it  was  sad  butchery  that  had  been  perpetrated 
by  naked  savages,  who  had  been  goaded  and  hunted 
down  themselves,  like  beasts  of  the  forest.  But  the 
sight  neither  augmented  nor  diminished  the  princi- 
ple with  which  I  set  out — the  amor  patrice  which  I 
had  drank  in  at  my  mother's  breast — nor  did  it 
rouse  me  to  emulate  the  barbarous  example.  And 
this  patriotism  sustained  us  long  after  Major  L.  had 
grounded  his  fury  at  his  own  peaceful  fireside. 

Here  it  was  determined  to  take  up  our  Winter 
quarters.  We  formed  a  hollow  square  in  a  thick 
grove,  on  the  most  commanding  hill.  We  then  had 
to  fell  tree|,  and  throw  a  breastwork  around  the 
whole  army,  before  we  were  permitted  to  retire  to 
rest.  As  it  regards  regular  meals,  they  were  fast 
going  out  of  fashion;  and  that  night  supper  was 
postponed.  After  we  were  suffered  to  see  to  our- 
selves, each  mess  kindled  a  princely  fire;  for  what- 
ever else  might  betide,  we  always  had  an  enviable 
supply  of  wood.  We  then  sat  down,  in  doleful 


SIEGE    OF    FOET    MEIGS.  123 

plight,  to  parch  corn;  and  we  comforted  each  other 
by  talking  martially  about  Tapper's  men,  who  "had 
occupied  that  ground  before  us,  and  who  had  been 
driven  to  such  straits  as  to  eat  roasted  hickory 
roots.  Our  ambition  rose  no  higher  than  parched 
corn,  till  a  luckless  epicure  exclaimed,  "Boys,  did 
you  ever  hear  of  hog-meat  and  hominy?"  "0! 
don't  mention  hominy;  you  will  make  us  squeal 
right  out."  "Well,  sirs,  it  is  not  only  mentionable, 
but  it  is  highly  feasible.  Now,  if  you  will  only  cast 
in  a  generous  contribution  of  corn,  we  '11  borrow  a 
camp-kettle,  and  make  a  royal  mess  of  hominy." 
Having  been  partly  raised  on  hominy,  we  all  un- 
derstood very  well  how  to  dispose  of  the  good  dish 
when  cooked,  but  we  had  brought  out  no  recipe 
concerning  the  preparation.  However,  it  was  de- 
cided, without  a  dissenting  voice,  that  it  must  be 
boiled.  Moreover,  we  knew  that  we  had  taken  the 
first  step  right,  according  to  Mrs.  Glass  —  we  had 
"caught"  the  corn.  So  at  it  we  went.  All  other 
business  was  suspended,  and  we  laid  as  close  siege 
to  the  camp-kettle  as  ever  Edward,  King  of  En- 
gland, did  to  Calais.  Every  hour  or  s<f  we  would 
dip  up  a  spoonful  to  try  it;  but  it  really  appeared 
that  the  longer  we  boiled  it  the  harder  it  got.  Wo 
persevered  till  day  dawned  upon  us,  and  then,  to 
our  great  mortification,  found  that  we  had  not  only 
lost  our  corn,  but  our  night's  rest. 

Our  distressing  march  had  closed;  and  for  several 
subsequent  weeks  we  tasted  the  labors  and  fatigues 


124  THE    SWORD. 

of  a  soldier's  life.  The  troops  were  employed  daily 
in  digging  trenches,  felling  trees,  splitting  logs, 
setting  up  picketing,  raising  block-houses,  and  doing 
every  kind  of  work  that  was  necessary  to  fortify 
our  post,  which  embraced  nine  acres,  and  which, 
when  finished,  was  called  "Fort  Meigs"  This  sea- 
son of  fatigue  was  replete  with  hardships,  especially 
as  it  was  in  the  depth  of  Winter,  and  accompanied 
with  many  privations.  However,  our  bodies  and 
minds  were  actively  employed,  which  rendered  our 
condition  far  preferable  to  that  which  immediately 
followed;  for  having  finished  the  public  and  private 
work  which  was  necessary  to  make  our  quarters 
tolerable,  if  not  comfortable,  a  state  of  indolence 
and  inactivity  succeeded  that  was  highly  deleterious 
to  the  army.  The  Winter  was  unusually  severe, 
even  on  the  frontiers.  One  unfortunate  sentinel 
froze  at  his  post  in  less  than  two  hours.  We  here 
had  an  opportunity  of  testing  the  mistaken  policy 
of  some  fond  parents,  who  think  that  they  have 
accomplished  a  stroke  of  generalship,  when  they 
hide  their  children  from  the  contagious  disorders 
which  occasionally  visit  their  neighborhood.  Num- 
bers were  swept  off  by  the  mumps,  measles,  hoop- 
ing-cough, and  other  distempers,  which  came  upon 
them  at  this  unpropitious  time  and  place,  where 
there  was  little  remedy  and  less  medical  skill,  and 
where  the  soft  hand  of  the  warm-hearted  mother, 
and  the  sleepless  solicitude  of  the  affectionate  sister 
could  not  reach  them.  They  died  daily.  The 


SIEGE    OF    FORT    MEIGS.  125 

mournful  air  of  "Roslin  Castle"  became  the  pre- 
vailing music  of  the  day,  while  the  sharp  rifle-cracks 
of  the  platoon  told  how  many  were  borne  to  their 
long  home.  A  deadly  homesickness  overwhelmed 
our  troops,  and  we  believe  a  repentance  of  war  was 
kindled  in  every  bosom,  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest. 

Some  stirring  incident  would  occasionally  occur, 
as  a  kind  of  ennui-breaker,  and  rouse  us  from  our 
torpor.  At  one  time  our  spies  brought  intelligence 
that  a  party  of  about  seven  hundred  Indians  were 
diverting  themselves  with  a  war-dance  on  the  ice, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  river.  In  the  dusk  of  the 
evening,  General  Harrison,  at  the  head  of  fifteen 
hundred  troops,  started  for  the  party,  although  not 
particularly  invited.  At  a  late  hour  in  the  night 
the  blazing  fires  of  the  enemy  appeared  on  the  bank 
of  the  river.  We  were  now  wide  awake.  The  day 
of  battle,  about  which  so  much  had  been  said,  was 
now  right  before  us.  The  detachment,  thrown  into 
a  crescent,  with  the  artillery  in  the  center,  cau- 
tiously approached.  We  found  the  fires  burning 
bright  with  recent  fuel;  but  the  Indians  had  fled. 
This  disappointment  was  probably  owing  to  our  im- 
prudence in  marching  on  the  river.  It  is  said  that 
an  Indian,  by  laying  his  ear  flat  on  the  ice,  can 
discover  the  approach  of  a  large  force  five  miles 
distant. 

It  was  now  announced  that  those  who  were  sick 
or  exhausted  might  tarry  by  the  fires  till  morning. 


126  THE    SWORD. 

Some  were  so  completely  worn  out  that  they  not 
only  accepted  the  boon,  but  threw  themselves  down 
by  the  fires,  and,  without  a  sentinel  to  guard  the 
camp,  fell  into  a  profound  sleep.  For  my  own  part, 
I  felt  that  my  strength  was  almost  gone;  but  some 
very  forcible  questions  presented  themselves  to  my 
mind;  such  as,  how  far  had  the  wily  enemy  re- 
treated? Might  they  not  now  be  lurking  in  the 
dark  forest  before  us,  watching  all  our  movements? 
Again  I  rubbed  the  crown  of  my  head,  and  con- 
cluded to  value  my  scalp  at  a  higher  price  of  suffer- 
ing than  had  yet  been  realized.  It  also  occurred 
that  I  was  not  made  of  softer  clay  than  my  fellows, 
and  that  there  was  a  point  of  endurance  beyond 
which  none  could  go — a  point  at  which  the  officers 
themselves  must  succumb.  So  I  would  not  report 
myself  among  either  the  sick,  the  lame,  or  the  lazy. 
The  General,  being  disappointed  in  the  matter  of 
the  dance,  concluded  to  proceed  on  to  the  River 
Eaisin,  and  to  bury  our  dead,  who  had  been  inhu- 
manly left  on  the  field,  and  were  now  "bleaching 
in  the  northern  blast."  He,  therefore,  sent  back  to 
Meigs  for  sleds,  pickaxes,  spades,  etc.,  and  the  main 
body  moved  on.  The  frozen  face  of  the  river  was 
an  unbroken  level.  It  had  been  put  into  excellent 
order  by  a  previous  sprinkle  of  snow.  There  was 
no  impediment  in  our  way  to  call  for  vigilance. 
The  companies  marched  in  very  compact  order, 
each  man  being  partially  sustained  by  his  comrades. 
These  circumstances,  together  with  the  uniform  and 


SIEGE    OF    FORT    MEIGS.  127 

monotonous  tread  of  the  troops,  acting  on  men  so 
enervated,  induced  an  unconquerable  drowsiness. 
Numbers  slept  as  they  marched  along.  Some  pla- 
toons, thus  dozing,  so  far  diverged  from  their  course 
as  to  lose  their  companies,  and  mix  with  strange 
columns.  I  not  only  slept  myself,  but  had  short, 
distinct  dreams.  In  this  way  we  marched  all 
night.  About  day-break  we  began  to  approach  the 
lake.  The  ice  had  evidently  become  softer.  We 
pressed  on  till  our  way  became  quite  sloppy.  We 
persevered,  however,  till  the  wheels  of  our  six- 
pounder  broke  through  the  ice.  The  expedition 
was  then  abandoned.  The  troops  were  marched  to 
a  projecting  point  of  land,  where  we  had  a  short 
intermission.  About  thirty  minutes  were  spent  in 
dozing  or  eating,  as  drowsiness  or  hunger  prevailed, 
when  we  were  again  beat  to  arms,  and  marched 
back  to  our  fort,  where  we  arrived  late  in  the  even- 
ing, having  marched  sixty-four  miles  in  twenty-two 
consecutive  hours.  The  detachment  was  so  pros- 
trated, that  it  was  exonerated  from  all  military 
duty  for  several  days. 

The  cheerless  and  wearisome-  months  of  Winter 
rolled  heavily  along.  At  last  some  faint  indications 
of  Spring  began  to  appear.  One  afternoon,  as  num- 
bers were  gathered  together  on  the  "  parade,"  two 
strangers,  finely  mounted,  appeared  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  river,  and  seemed  to  be  taking  a  very 
calm  and  deliberate  survey  of  our  works.  It  was  a 
strange  thing  to  see  travelers  in  that  wild  country, 


128  THE    SWORD. 

and  we  commonly  held  such  to  be  enemies,  till  they 
proved  themselves  to  be  friends.  So  one  of  our  bat- 
teries was  cleared  forthwith,  and  the  gentlemen 
were  saluted  with  a  shot  that  tore  up  the  earth 
about  them,  and  put  them  to  a  hasty  flight.  If 
that  ball  had  struck  its  mark  much  bloodshed  might 
have  been  prevented;  for  we  learned  subsequently 
that  our  illustrious  visitors  were  Proctor  and  Te- 
cumseh.  The  garrison  was  immediately  employed 
in  cutting  deep  traverses  through  the  fort,  taking 
down  the  tents,  and  preparing  for  a  siege.  The 
work  accomplished  in  a  few  hours,  under  the  excits- 
ment  of  the  occasion,  was  prodigious.  The  grand 
traverse  being  completed,  each  mess  was  ordered  to 
excavate,  under  the  embankment,  suitable  lodgings, 
as  substitutes  for  our  tents.  Those  rooms  were  shot- 
proof,  and  bomb-proof,  except  in  the  event  of  a 
shell  falling  in  the  traverse,  and  at  the  mouth  of  a 
cave.  This  gave  occasion,  in  the  course  of  the  siege, 
for  an  English  officer,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner, 
and  returned  on  parole,  to  say  to  his  general,  "It  is 
powder  and  shot  thrown  away  to  fire  at  that  fort. 
I  can  compare  the  Americans  to  nothing  but  an 
army  of  ground-hogs.  As  soon  as  a  sentinel  cries, 
'Shot,'  every  man  dodges  under  ground;  and  the 
ball  has  scarcely  swept  over  the  ground  before  they 
are  on  their  feet  again,  inquiring  into  the  damage." 
This  observation  of  our  prisoner  was  true,  as  it 
regarded  that  portion  of  our  men  who  were  not  on 
duty  for  the  time  being.  But  the  shot  did  consid- 


SIEGE    OF    PORT    MEIGS.  129 

erable   damage    to  those   who  were    necessarily   at 
their  posts. 

The  above  works  were  scarcely  completed  before 
it  was  discovered  that  the  enemy,  under  cover  of 
night,  had  constructed  batteries,  on  a  commanding 
hill,  west  of  the  river.  There  their  artillery-men 
were  posted;  but  the  principal  part  of  their  army 
occupied  the  old  English  fort  below.  Their  Indian 
allies  appeared  to  have  a  roving  commission;  for 
they  beset  us  on  every  side.  The  cannonading  com- 
menced in  good  earnest  on  both  sides.  It  was, 
however,  more  constant  on  the  British  side,  because 
they  had  a  more  extensive  mark  to  batter.  We 
had  nothing  to  fire  at  but  their  batteries;  but  they 
were  coolly  and  deliberately  attended  to;  and  it  was 
believed  that  more  than  one  of  their  guns  were  dis- 
mounted during  the  siege.  One  of  our  militia-men 
took  his  station  on  the  embankment,  and  gratui- 
tously forewarned  us  of  every  shot.  In  this  he  be- 
came so  skillful  that  he  could,  in  almost  every  case, 
predict  the  destination  of  the  ball.  As  soon  as  the 
smoke  issued  from  the  muzzle  of  the  gun  he  would 
cry  out  "shot,"  or  "bomb,"  as  the  case  might  be. 
Sometimes  he  would  exclaim,  "Block-house  No.  1," 
or,  "Look  out,  main  battery;"  "Now  for  the  meat- 
house;"  "Good-by,  if  you  will  pass."  In  spite  of 
all  the  expostulations  of  his  friends,  he  maintained 
his  post.  One  day  there  came  a  shot  that  seemed 
to  defy  all  his  calculations.  He  stood  silent — mo- 
tionless— perplexed.  In  the  same  instant  he  was 


130  THE    SWORD. 

swept  into  eternity.  Poor  man!  he  should  have 
considered  that  when  there  was  no  obliquity  in  the 
issue  of  the  smoke,  either  to  the  right  or  left,  above 
or  below,  the  fatal  messenger  would  travel  in  the 
direct  line  of  his  vision.  He  reminded  me  of  the 
peasant,  in  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  who  cried  out, 
"Woe  to  the  city!  woe  to  the  temple!  woe  to  my- 
self!" On  the  most  active  day  of  the  investment 
there  was  as  many  as  five  hundred  cannon-balls 
and  bombs  thrown  at  our  fort.  Meantime,  the  In- 
dians, climbing  up  into  the  trees,  fired  incessantly 
upon  us.  Such  was  their  distance,  that  many  of 
their  balls  barely  reached  us,  and  fell  harmless  to  the 
ground.  Occasionally  they  inflicted  dangerous  and 
even  fatal  wounds.  The  number  killed  in  the  fort 
was  small,  considering  the  profusion  of  powder  and 
ball  expended  on  us.  About  eighty  were  slain, 
many  wounded,  and  several  had  to  sufier  the  ampu- 
tation of  limbs.  The  most  dangerous  duty  which 
we  performed  within  the  precincts  of  the  fort  was  in 
covering  the  magazine.  Previous  to  this  the  powder 
had  been  deposited  in  wagons,  and  these  stationed 
in  the  traverse.  Here  there  was  no  security  against 
bombs.  It  was  therefore  thought  to  be  prudent  to 
remove  the  powder  into  a  small  block-house,  and 
cover  it  with  earth.  The  enemy,  judging  our 
design  from  our  movements,  now  directed  all  their 
shot  to  this  point.  Many  of  their  balls  were  red-hot. 
Wherever  they  struck  they  raised  a  cloud  of  smoke, 
and  made  a  frightful  hissing.  An  officer  passing 


SIEGE    OF    FORT    MEIGS.  131 

our  quarters,  said,  "Boys,  who  will  volunteer  to 
cover  the  magazine?"  Fool-like,  away  several  of  us 
went.  As  soon  as  we  reached  the  spot,  there  came 
a  ball  and  took  off  one  man's  head.  The  spades 
and  dirt  flew  faster  than  any  of  us  had  before  wit- 
nessed. In  the  midst  of  our  job  a  bomb-shell  fell  on 
the  roof,  and  lodging  on  one  of  the  braces,  it  spun 
round  for  a  moment.  Every  soldier  fell  prostrate 
on  his  face,  and  with  breathless  horror  awaited  the 
vast  explosion,  which  we  expected  would  crown  all 
our  earthly  sufferings.  Only  one  of  all  the  gang 
presumed  to  reason  on  the  case.  He  silently  argued 
that,  as  the  shell  had  not  bursted  as  quick  as  usual, 
there  might  be  something  wrong  in  its  arrangement. 
If  it  bursted  where  it  was,  and  the  magazine  ex- 
ploded, there  could  be  no  escape:  it  was  death  any- 
how; so  he  sprung  to  his  feet,  seized  a  boat-hook, 
and  pulling  the  hissing  missile  to  the  ground,  and 
jerking  the  smoking  match  from  its  socket,  discov- 
ered that  the  shell  was  filled  with  inflammable  mat- 
ter, which,  if  once  ignited,  would  have  wrapped  the 
whole  building  in  a  sheet  of  flame.  This  circum- 
stance added  wings  to  our  shovels;  and  we  were 
right  glad  when  the  officer  said,  "That  will  do:  go 
to  your  lines."  When  retired  to  my  cool  subter- 
ranean lodge,  I  called  a  meeting  of  the  whole  cabi- 
net of  "Mansoul;"  in  which,  after  considerable  dis- 
cussion, the  following  preamble  and  resolution  were 
unanimously  adopted: 

"  Whereas,  Volunteering  is  a  mere  work  of  super- 


132  THE    SWORD. 

erogation,  and  commonly  founded  on  animal  pas- 
sions, and,  moreover,  brings  no  revenue  of  respect 
to  our  judgment;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  this  shall  be  the  last  volunteer 
service  with  us,  come  what  will." 

To  this  I  have  strictly  adhered,  both  in  State  and 
Church.  Indeed,  in  our  Church,  where  there  is 
such  stupendous  locomotive  power,  volunteering  is 
truly  ridiculous.  Although  I  have  generally  gone 
where  the  determinate  council  have  sent  me,  yet 
I  still  cherish  an  abiding  and  habitual  diffidence 
about  flourishing  in  a  "forlorn  hope.1' 

The  siege  still  went  on  with  various  success  on 
both  sides,  the  enemy  becoming  more  formidable 
by  experience  and  practice,  till  the  fifth  of  May. 
We  will  begin  with  that  day  by  saying  it  was  set 
apart  by  the  authorities  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  as  a 
day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer.  The  infi- 
del may  say,  "Pshaw!  that  was  only  accidental." 
But  if  that  said  infidel  will  take  the  pains  to  ex- 
amine the  papers  and  journals  of  the  times,  he 
will  find  that  nearly  all  the  victories  which  were 
gained  in  the  last  war,  by  the  American  arms,  were 
gained  on  fast-days.  On  the  fifth  of  May,  a  ree'n- 
forcement,  under  General  Clay,  was  descending  the 
Maumee.  The  previous  evening  Harrison  had  sent 
a  confidential  officer  to  meet  the  force,  and  give 
them  the  plan  of  operation.  A  division  of  the  body 
'was  to  land  on  the  western  shore,  and  by  a  rapid 
and  secret  march  come  down  upon  the  enemy's  bat- 


SIEGE    OF    FORT    MEIGS.  133 

teries,  spike  their  cannons,  and  then  retreat  down 
to  the  river  under  cover  of  our  guns,  till  they  could 
be  transported  to  the  fort.  The  other  division  was 
to  make  their  way  down  the  river,  in  their  boats, 
to  the  garrison.  As  soon  as  this  last  division  came 
in  sight  on  the  rapids,  they  attracted  the  sole  atten- 
tion of  the  armies  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  Meet- 
ing with  some  obstructions  in  the  river,  they  were 
obliged  to  land.  This  they  did  under  a  heavy  fire 
from  the  Indians  on  the  eastern  shore.  A  detach- 
ment, embracing  our  company,  was  marched  out  of 
the  fort,  to  cover  the  Kentuckians  who  were  coming 
in.  With  little  loss  they  entered  the  fort. 

As  soon  as  we  had  retired  to  the  garrison,  the 
Petersburg,  the  Pittsburg,  and  Greensburg  volun- 
teers, with  some  companies  of  regulars,  and  Captain 
Sebree's  brave  militia,  numbering,  in  all,  four  hund- 
red men,  were  drawn  up  in  a  deep  ravine  outside 
of  the  picketing,  preparatory  to  a  sortie.  The  ob- 
ject was  to  destroy  a  battery  which  had  been  con- 
structed on  our  side  of  the  river,  which  had  done 
us  much  harm,  and  which  was  supported  by  fifteen 
hundred  Indians.  The  sally  was  also  to  be  so  timed 
as  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  enemy  from  the 
approach  of  Dudley's  command,  that  was  slyly  steal- 
ing upon  them.  The  few  moments  immediately 
preceding  the  battle  are,  of  all  others,  the  most 
awful.  Then  the  soldier  is  capable  of  reflection, 
and  the  mental  vessel,  under  the  high  pressure, 
moves  fast.  To  counteract  this,  our  first  lieuten- 


134  THE    SWORD. 

ant,  who  had  been  nicknamed  "Old  Sluefoot," 
passed  up  and  down  our  line,  encouraging  the  men. 
He  was  a  wicked  man,  but  had  so  many  good  traits 
withal,  that  he  was  very  popular.  "Boys,"  said 
he,  "when  they  give  the  word,  do  you  all  rush  with 
a  tremendous  shout."  And  then  he  exclaimed  with 
an  awful  oath,  that  there  was  nothing  under  heaven 
like  a  shout.  At  last  the  word  was  given — the 
charge  made.  As  we  cleared  the  ravine  the  whole 
forest  was  in  a  blaze.  The  continuous  roar  of  the 
rifles  was  like  the  long  roll  of  the  drum — no  inter- 
mission. The  balls  flew  like  hailstones — pish — 
pish — ^pish;  now  and  then  rap — rap.  In  our  pas- 
sage to  the  woods  we  became  exposed  to  the  British 
battery  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  They  were 
not  slow  in  playing  their  artillery  on  us;  but  we 
heard  it  not — we  felt  it  not — we  saw  it  not.  With 
a  blazing  line  before  us,  and  a  crowd  of  anxious 
witnesses  in  the  fort  behind,  we  had  no  time  for 
way-side  chitchat  and  lateral  sallies.  Those  who 
were  in  the  fort  said  it  was  amazing  to  see  how  the 
balls  plowed  up  the  earth  about  our  heels,  and  with 
what  little  effect.  But  while  the  foe  were  engaged 
in  this  very  act,  Dudley's  Kentuckians  rushed  down 
upon  their  rear,  took  their  batteries,  and  spiked 
their  guns.  If  they  had  then  retreated  to  the  river, 
according  to  orders,  happy  would  it  have  been  for 
them.  But,  unfortunately,  the  Indian  yell  was 
raised  in  the  forest.  That  was  more  than  a  Ken- 
tucky ear  could  bear.  Our  victors  rushed  to  meet 


SIEGE    OF    FORT    MEIGS.  135 

their  mortal  foe,  and  a  general  slaughter  ensued. 
After  the  siege,  while  gathering  up  the  dead,  in 
several  places  were  found  the  white  and  red  man, 
as  they  had  fallen  in  single  combat,  locked  in  deadly 
strife.  This  imprudence  was  not  confined  to  raw 
troops.  There  was  too  much  of  it  on  our  side  of 
the  river;  for  when  our  sortie  was  crowned  with 
success,  the  eastern  battery  destroyed,  and  thirty 
artillery-men,  with  two  officers,  taken  prisoners, 
our  soldiers  continued  to  drive  the  Indians  till  we 
were  beguiled  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  into 
the  woods,  and  the  enemy  began  to  outflank,  and 
get  between  us  and  our  works.  In  this  move  Se- 
bree's  company  became  surrounded;  but  they  fought 
desperately  at  close  quarters,  muzzle  to  muzzle,  and 
hatchet  to  hatchet,  till  a  regular  company  cut  a 
passage  through.  This  militia  company  suffered 
more  than  all  the  rest  of  the  detachment.  "We, 
however,  considered  that  victory  was  on  our  side; 
for  we  retreated  into  a  fort  that  was  now  compara- 
tively safe.  The  enemy's  guns  were  all  silenced, 
and  if  they  continued  the  siege,  their  only  hope 
could  be  in  storming,  and  this  was  most  ardently 
desired  on  our  side.  "We  were  afterward  informed 
by  deserters  that  this  was  their  intention.  The 
English  general  had  engaged  the  Indians  to  assist 
him  in  this  work  at  the  breaking  of  the  day. 
Some  barrels  of  whisky,  as  part  and  parcel  of  the 
contract,  were  issued  to  the  savages  that  evening, 
and  they  spent  the  night  in  drinking  and  torturing 


136  THE    SWORD. 

the  unhappy  prisoners  who  had  fallen  into  their 
hands.  At  the  same  time  the  company  of  Irishmen 
that  we  carried  into  Meigs,  were  treated  with 
American  hospitality,  and  regularly  drew  their  ra- 
tions, even  to  their  whisky.  They  were  profuse  in 
their  expressions  of  gratitude,  and  their  tongues 
moved  as  on  a  pivot.  Just  before  day-break  Proctor 
sent  for  the  Indian  chiefs,  and  asked  them  if  they 
were  all  ready  for  the  storm.  They  answered,  "All 
ready !  S'pose  you  take  your  braves  and  go  before, 
and  drive  your  nails  into  the  big  guns,  as  Kantuc 
serve  you;  then  we  come — Indian  much — strong!" 
This  the  English  were  not  disposed  to  do.  The 
next  morning  the  dissatisfied  Indians  began  to  file 
off  by  companies  and  tribes;  and  the  English  gen- 
eral becoming  alarmed,  hastily  raised  the  siege,  and 
retreated,  leaving  much  of  his  baggage  behind. 

None  of  our  company  were  left  on  the  field. 
About  twenty-five  were  wounded  —  some  of  them 
dangerously — who  recovered;  and  six  died  of  their 
wounds.  These  added  to  the  sixteen,  whose  deaths 
might  be  traced  to  their  exposure  in  the  Black 
Swamp,  made  our  total  loss  twenty-two. 

When  I  look  back  at  all  through  which  we 
passed,  it  seems  to  me  a  mystery  of  God's  goodness 
that  I  was  spared.  But  this  mystery,  reader,  is 
partially  solved  by  the  reflection,  that  I  had  a  pious 
and  praying  mother,  who  pleaded  for  the  prodigal, 
day  and  night,  with  strong  cries  and  tears.  When 
the  news  reached  P ,  that  there  had  been  an 


SIEGE    OF    FORT    MEIGS.  137 

engagement  at  Fort  Meigs,  and  that  many  of  the 
volunteers  were  wounded,  and  some  killed,  my 
mother  was  sorely  afflicted.  The  sound  of  every 
footstep  on  the  threshold  harrowed  up  her  soul. 
She  could  not  think  of  stepping  out  for  fear  of  evil 
tidings.  And  what  made  it  still  more  distressing 
was,  that  it  was  her  regular  class  day.  From  the 
means  of  grace  she  was  not  to  be  driven  by  the 
smiles  of  friends  or  frowns  of  enemies.  To  her 
closet  she  fled,  and  while  wrapped  up  in  a  conflict 
of  prayer,  she  said,  and  /  believed  her,  that  God 
gave  her  a  comfortable  assurance  that  all  was  well. 
She  now  went  forth  to  her  class  meeting.  As  she 
passed  down  the  street,  the  postmaster,  who  had 
been  a  schoolmate  of  mine,  ran  to  the  door,  with 
tears  in  his  eyes,  and  said,  "Mrs.  L.,  I  have  just 
heard  from  the  army;  my  poor  brother  John  is 
killed;  but,  thank  God!  Alfred  is  safe."  Under  the 
mingling  emotions  of  sympathy  and  gratitude,  she 
burst  into  tears,  and  as  soon  as  utterance  was 
given,  answered,  "Mr.  S.,  truly  I  feel  with  you  the 
loss  of  your  excellent  brother;  but  the  Lord  had 
before  given  me  the  most  satisfactory  assurances  in 
regard  to  my  son."  So  she  hastened  on  to  her 
class,  and  in  the  bosom  of  an  affectionate  and  pray- 
ing Church  buried  all  her  sorrows.  And  I  do 
believe  that  if  I  could  live  to  be  as  old  as  Methusa- 
lah,  I  should  still  be  childish  enough — if  childish  it 

be — to  say,  blessed  be  God  for  a  praying  mother! 
12 


138  THE     SWORD. 


IX. 

• 

THE  SEQUEL  AT  FORT  MEIGS. 

OUR  readers  will  perceive  that,  to  the  raising  of 
the  siege  of  Fort  Meigs,  our  campaign  was  nothing 
but  a  scene  of  suffering  and  toil,  with  the  exception 
of  our  gala  promenade  to  Chillicothe.  "We  have  yet 
to  speak  of  the  slain,  the  wounded,  and  the  dying, 
as  these  must  be  taken  into  the  account  in  reckon- 
ing the  cost.  After  the  sortie,  we  visited  the  hos- 
pital. Reclining  on  a  bed  in  one  corner  lay  a  gal- 
lant officer,  who  was  attached  to  the  engineer  de- 
partment. He  had  rendered  much  service  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  and  his  courage  was  unques- 
tionable. But  now,  in  consequence  of  the  irritation 
of  his  nerves  by  the  roar  of  artillery,  the  bursting 
of  bombs,  the  pain  of  his  wounds,  and  his  feverish 
condition,  he  had  become  as  timid  and  as  peevish  as 
a  child,  and  was  constantly  apprehensive  of  being 
torn  to  pieces  by  a  cannon-ball. 

"Lord,  what  is  man!  poor,  feeble  man! 
Formed  of  the  dust  at  first." 

Stretched  on  a  pallet  lay  Captain  Jack  Shore,  "the 
darling  of  our  crew."  He  had  formerly  commanded 
a  merchantman;  and  although  only  a  private  in  our 


THE    SEQUEL    AT    FORT    METGS.  139 

company,  and  a  sailor  withal,  he  was  better  quali- 
fied for  a  military  officer  than  any  man  in  our 
corps.  But  he  was  a  sailor ;  and  that,  in  the  land- 
lubber's vocabulary,  implies  every  thing  that  is 
awkward  and  back-handed,  on  horse  or  foot.  He 
was  related  to  General  Harrison,  and  had  more 
than  once  taken  tea  with  his  distinguished  cousin, 
"sub  rosa,"  in  the  grand  marquee.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  cannonading,  he  had  solicited  a 
station  in  one  of  the  principal  batteries,  and  han- 
dled the  big  guns  to  admiration.  One  of  the  guns 
was  dismounted  by  a  shot  from  the  cjnemy,  and  an 
iron  splinter  pierced  his  leg.  It  was  immediately 
extracted.  The  wound  was  considered  unimportant, 
and  was  slightly  bandaged.  However,  in  a  few 
hours  it  became  distressingly  painful,  and  he  retired 
to  the  hospital.  He  was  now  suffering  in  the  last 
stage  of  lock-jaw.  In  his  spasmodic  agony,  the 
smoke  of  his  torment  literally  rose  in  a  mist  from 
his  blanket.  We  gave  him  a  hot  bath,  but  to  no 
purpose;  he  sank  in  death,  lamented  by  all. 

In  another  corner  lay  the  handsome  and  delicate 
Cluff,  mortally  wounded.  He  was  earnestly  begging 
a  messmate  to  read  to  him.  In  this  he  was  grati- 
fied. We  can  not  recollect  the  book  that  was  used, 
but  remember  well  noticing  at  the  time  that  it  was 
not  a  religious  work.  His  comrade  would  read  a 
few  lines,  and  then  ask  him  how  he  liked  it.  With 
a  vacant  stare  he  would  shake  his  head,  but  imme- 
diately repeat,  "Bead,  read."  The  thought  struck 


140  THE    SWORD. 

me  at  the  time  that  it  was  the  Word  of  life  which 
he  wished  to  hear  from,  in  that  trying  hour,  but 
that  he  had  not  yet  reached  that  point  of  contrition 
which  would  embolden  him  to  express  the  humilia- 
ting request.  And,  alas!  alas!  I  had  not  moral 
courage  to  direct  him  to  a  source  of  comfort  which 
had  been  so  shamefully  neglected  by  myself. 

In  a  tent,  surrounded  by  his  affectionate  mess, 
was  nursed  the  brave,  intelligent,  and  well-educated 
Booker.  He  spoke  of  death,  not  only  with  com- 
posure, but  sometimes  with  exultation.  His  hope 
was  cheering;  but  it  soon  appeared,  from  his  con- 
versation, that  it  rested  on  the  common  opiate  of 
dying  soldiers :  he  was  dying  for  his  country.  Al- 
though my  stock  of  theological  lore  was  very  scant, 
yet  it  showed  me  that  this  would  not  do;  but  I 
durst  not  point  him  to  a  better  foundation,  lest  he 
might  say,  ironically,  but  justly,  "Physician,  heal 
thyself."  Precious  young  man !  he  was,  doubtless, 
less  faulty  than  myself.  He  felt  that  he  was  con- 
summating the  work  which  God  had  given  him  to 
do,  by  sacrificing  himself  on  the  altar  of  his  country, 
while  "  I  knew  my  duty,  but  I  did  it  not."  We 
have  not  time  to  speak  particularly  of  our  fallen 
comrades.  There  they  lie,  each  in  his  dusty  bed, 
deep  in  the  cold  banks  of  the  Maumee,  awaiting 
the  grand  reveille  that  will  usher  in  the  day-break 
of  immortality,  "  which  shall  their  flesh  restore." 
But,  in  seeing  all  this,  the  impression  fastened  on 
my  mind,  and  revolving  years  have  not  erased  it, 


THE    SEQUEL    AT    FORT    MEIGS.          141 

that  if  there  is  any  situation  whi<!h  calls  loudly  for 
a  pious,  industrious,  and  self-denying  minister  of 
Christ,  it  is  the  army. 

We  have  before  us  a  communication,  lately 
received  from  the  Peace  Society.  We  cordially 
agree  with  it,  that  the  spirit  of  Christianity  is  the 
spirit  of  peace.  We  are,  moreover,  highly  delighted 
with  the  project  of  a  grand  court  of  arbitration, 
governed  by  well-defined  international  laws,  to  set- 
tle differences  that  may  arise  between  governments. 
We  believe  that  the  common  safety  and  interests 
of  all  nations  may  yet  prompt  them  to  establish 
such  a  tribunal.  And  if  the  Peace  Society  stood 
upon  the  high  resolve,  1.  To  do  all  that  we  right- 
eously and  consistently  can  to  prevent  war;  2.  To 
do  all  that  we  possibly  can  to  mitigate  its  evils,  when 
it  does  come,  and  labor  by  all  justifiable  means  to 
restore  peace ;  we  see  no  cause  why  the  whole 
Christian  community  might  not  advocate  it.  But 
we  really  fear,  from  a  perusal  of  its  documents, 
that  it  leans  to  ultraism: 

1.  Because  it  claims  too  much — to  be  the  sum- 
mum  bonum — the  "land's-end"  of  all  conservative 
virtue.  It  boasts  of  controlling  the  press.  "  It  has 
waked  up  the  pulpit."  Waked  up  the  pulpit, 
indeed!  Were  it  not  for  the  pulpit,  and  its  asso- 
ciate means  of  grace,  all  divinely  instituted,  we 
doubt  whether  a  Peace  Society  would  have  ever 
been  mentioned  on  the  continent  of  America.  This 
is  the  first  emanation  we  have  received  from  the 


THE    SWORD. 

said  society,  and  yet  our  conscience  bears  us  witness 
that  we  have,  according  to  the  grace  given,  preached 
peace  by  Jesus  Christ  for,  lo !  these  twenty  years 
and  more. 

2.  Because  its  morality  outstrips  the  Bible,  and 
even  leaves  its  Divine  Author  in  the  dark  distance. 
The  Peace  Advocate  holds  that  the  time  is  coming 
when  no  conscientious  minister  can  officiate  as  a 
chaplain  in  the  army.  Surely  that  will  be  a  day 
of  high  lustration!  a  day  when  mortal  man  will  be 
too  conscientious  to  preach  for  Christ  at  all;  for  he 
requires  his  ministers  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature — to  the  civilized  and  the  barbarian — to  the 
master  and  the  servant — to  the  sailor  and  the  sol- 
dier. Did  our  Lord's  commission  embrace  the  sol- 
dier? We  judge  so  from  his  practice.  "When  a 
centurion  sent  for  him  to  minister  to  his  family, 
our  Savior  promptly  answered  the  call.  And  when 
the  centurion,  on  second  thought,  feared  he  had 
ventured  too  much,  and  sent  a  messenger  to  modify 
the  request,  our  Lord  turned  to  his  followers  and 
said,  "Verily,  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith;  no, 
not  in  Israel ;"  not  even  in  his  own  apostles.  Again, 
the  first  Gospel  sermon  that  was  preached  to  the 
Gentiles  was  particularly  addressed  to  Cornelius,  a 
centurion  of  the  band,  called  the  Italian  band,  and 
his  devout  soldiers.  And  this  by  the  special  com- 
mand of  Heaven.  In  all  probability  it  was  preached 
in  the  barracks.  It  is  true,  all  this  was  before  the 
Peace  Advocate  had  waked  up  the  pulpit.  We  hope 


THE    SEQUEL    AT    FORT    MEIGS.  143 

the  time  will  never  come  when  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  will  be  so  tender  in  conscience  as  not  to  go 
any  where  this  side  of  hell  to  save  souls  from  per- 
dition. 

3.  Because  it  claims  affinity,  or  seeks  partnership 
with  every  one  who  will  in  any  wise  promote  its 
design.  The  flowers  of  Pettit  are  quoted  to  prove 
the  inconsistency  of  acting  as  a  chaplain  in  the 
army.  We  wonder  that  the  Peace  Society  could  not 
see  that  Mr.  Pettit  was  more  intent  on  degrading 
the  Christian  religion  than  promoting  peace.  He 
was  trying  to  show  what  a  poor,  weak,  pusillani- 
mous thing  Christianity  is — how  it  creates  a  super- 
stitious conscience,  that  "makes  cowards  of  us  all." 
This  was  just  what  we  might  expect  infidelity  to 
throw  out  in  her  pangs  of  expiration.  But  the 
Peace  Society  will  not  soon  swell  its  ranks  with 
Christian  men  and  women,  if  it  expects  them  to 
enlist  at  the  enormous  expense  of  underwriting  the 
Pettit  parole.  Christianity  make  cowards  of  sol- 
diers !  Time  and  experience  have  each  placed  a 
foot  on  that  gross  libel.  Did  religion  make  cowards 
of  the  Methodist  soldiers  in  the  battle  of  Fontenoy  ? 
No.  One  of  the  society  cried  out  with  holy  joy,  as 
he  marched  into  the  field  of  battle,  "I  am  going  to 
rest  in  the  bosom  of  Jesus."  Others,  when  they 
fell,  covered  with  wounds,  exclaimed,  "I  am  going 
to  my  beloved."  Others,  "Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come 
quickly!"  When  William  Clements  had  his  arm 
broken  by  a  musket-ball,  they  would  have  carried 


144  THE    SWORD. 

him  out  of  the  battle;  but  he  said,  "No,  I  have  an 
arm  left  yet  to  hold  a  sword;  I  will  not  go."  When 
a  second  shot  broke  his  other  arm,  he  said,  "I  am 
as  happy  as  I  can  be  out- of  paradise."  John  Evans, 
having  both  his  legs  taken  off  by  a  cannon-ball,  was 
laid  across  a  cannon  to  die,  where,  as  long  as  he 
could  speak,  he  was  praising  God  with  joyful  lips. 
John  Haine,  of  the  cavalry,  filled  with  an  assurance 
of  Divine  protection,  cried  out,  "The  French  have 
no~  ball  molded  and  billeted  to  touch  my  life  this 
day."  After  seven  hours'  hard  fighting,  a  cannon- 
ball  struck  his  horse  from  under  him,  and  down  he 
tumbled  in  the  dust.  An  officer  cried  at  the  top 
of  his  voice,  "Haine,  where  is  your  God  now?" 
Springing  again  to  his  feet,  he  replied,  "Sir,  he  is 
here  with  me,  and  he  will  bring  me  out  of  this 
battle."  Presently  there  came  a  ball  and  took  the 
officer's  head  off.  0!  these  simple-hearted  Chris- 
tians carried  their  Bibles  in  their  knapsacks.  Their 
conscience  was  not  shaped  by  lectures,  and  pream- 
bles, and  resolutions,  all  tending  to  canonize  and 
deify  one  Christian  grace  at  the  expense  of  all 
others,  or  to  exalt  one  Bible  duty  as  a  commutation 
for  the  rest.  They  feared  God  and  honored  the 
king.  They  rendered  unto  Ccesar  the  things  that 
are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God  the  things  that  are 
God's.  And  yet,  even  in  the  army,  they  were  a  pe- 
culiar people ;  for  while  the  soldiers  were  gathering 
watches  and  jewels  on  the  battle-field,  and  said  to 
them,  "  Come,  will  ye  not  fly  upon  the  spoil  ?"  their 


THE    SEQUEL    AT    FORT    MEIGS.  145 

noble  answer  was,  "We  have  Christ  in  our  hearts; 
we  desire  no  plunder."  They  believed  that,  in 
their  peculiar  place,  it  was  their  duty  to  fight  for 
their  king  and  country;  but  they  knew  that  it  was 
no  duty  to  God  or  their  country  to  plunder  the  dead. 
But  to  resume: 

After  the  hasty  retreat  of  the  enemy,  a  detach- 
ment was  sent  out  to  scour  the  woods,  and  gather 
up  the  dead.  They  brought  in  a  great  number,  and 
spread  them  out  before  one  of  the  gates.  They 
had  been  abused  and  mutilated  in  a  most  shocking 
manner.  About  midnight  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  stand 
a  lonely  sentinel  over  this  ghastly,  silent  congrega- 
tion. The  stars  shone  sufficiently  bright  to  give 
effect  to  the  scene.  As  I  looked  down  upon  them, 
I  became  more  astonished  at  myself  than  any  other 
part  of  the  creation.  I  felt  truly  like  an  apostate 
from  human  nature.  A  few  months  before  I  could 
not  feel  comfortable  in  the  idea  of  sleeping  alone. 
The  sight  of  a  corpse  could  once  afford  me  subject- 
matter  of  trembling  for  weeks  to  come.  Even  in 
the  Black  Swamp  I  had  a  tear  to  spare  to  the 
expiring  pack-horse.  But  now,  at  this  lonely  hour, 
while  all  the  army  were  wrapped  in  sleep,  except 
a  few  widely-scattered  sentinels,  I  could  look  down 
on  this  ghastly,  disfigured  group,  without  even  a 
tremor  stealing  over  my  nerves.  I  found  that  my 
heart  had  become  wretchedly  hardened  by  the 
scenes,  sufferings,  and  conflicts  of  war.  What  par- 
ticularly afflicted  me  was,  I  thought  that  all  the 

io 


146  THE    SWORD. 

social  feelings  and  sympathies  of  my  soul  were 
clean  gone  forever;  that  I  should  no  more  feel 
with  those  who  feel,  or  weep  with  those  who  weep. 
But  I  found  subsequently  that  in  this  I  was  mis- 
taken. After  I  returned  to  the  pacific  relations  of 
life,  the  kindred  streams  gushed  back,  I  was  re- 
stored to  the  fellowship  of  humanity,  and  more — 
glory  be  to  God !  through  whose  mercy  the  day-star 
from  on  high  hath  visited  my  soul — admitted  to  the 
communion  of  saints,  and  the  household  of  faith. 

The  next  day,  after  laying  out  the  dead  as  de- 
cently as  circumstances  would  admit,  we  committed 
them  to  the  earth.  Then  all  the  cannon  around 
the  fort  were  fired  in  slow  and  solemn  succession, 
while  the  wild  and  unpeopled  banks  of  the  Maumee 
echoed  and  reechoed  the  funeral  honors  to  the  dis- 
tant lake. 

Our  army  was  now  restrained  from  further  opera- 
tions by  the  War  Department,  till  the  contemplated 
battle  on  the  Lake.  As  Perry  stood  in  need  of 
men,  there  was  another  beat  for  volunteers  in  the 
fort.  This  matter  was  not  without  its  temptations. 
But  I  rigidly  declined  for  the  following  reasons: 

1.  I  remembered  burying  the  magazine,  and  the 
subsequent  pledge.     It  was  said,  a  bad  promise  is 
better  broken  than  kept.     Yes,  but  there  lay  "the 
rub;"  I  was  not  yet  convinced  that  it  was  a  bad 
promise. 

2.  I  rather  suspected  that  there  would  be  hotter 
times  on  the  lake  than  we  had  seen  yet;  and  I  had 


THE    SEQUEL    AT    FOET    MEIGS.        147 

never  vaunted  myself  on  a  surplus  of  courage.  It 
is  true,  I  had  heretofore  felt  a  kind  of  fear — I  will 
not  call  it  cowardice,  lest  it  should  involve  too 
many — a  fear  of  public  opinion — a  fear  of  disgrac- 
ing myself,  my  family,  my  country,  etc.,  which  had 
answered  as  an  excellent  substitute  for  courage,  and 
had  borne  me  up  in  all  our  sufferings  and  dangers 
thus  far;  but  I  had  not  sounded  all  its  depth  and 
shoal;  and  how  it  would  work  when  we  came  to  be 
grappled  yard-arm  and  yard-arm,  I  could  not  tell. 

3.  I  could  not  bear  the  idea  of  being  recognized  by 
some  old  salt,  perhaps  some  shipmate,  under  a  sol- 
dier's coat,  as  I  knew  the  standing  antipathy  of  a 
sailor  to  my  temporary  profession.  If  they  had  held 
out,  on  a  pole,  a  suit  of  blue,  jacket  and  trowsers, 
with  a  neat  tarpaulin,  it  is  probable  that  all  the 
other  scruples  of  this  soldier  might  have  fled,  and 
he  might  have  snapped  at  the  bait.  But,  avast! 
As  I  had  started  on  a  land  cruise,  I  thought  it  was 
best  to  end  iet  before  engaging  in  new  enterprises. 

Soon  after  this  the  fort  was  broken  up,  or  reduced 
to  an  inconsiderable  post,  and  the  army  was  con- 
centrated at  Camp  Seneca.  Here  a  poor  deserter 
was  brought  in.  He  was  a  young  man  of  agreeable 
appearance.  The  court-martial  condemned  him  to 
be  shot.  The  sad  day  arrived.  The  whole  army 
was  paraded  and  formed  into  a  semi-square.  The 
executive  platoon  was  marched  out.  The  unhappy 
culprit  was  blindfolded  and  seated  with  his  back 
against  a  stump.  A  deadly  silence  pervaded  the 


148  THE    SWORD. 

whole  host.  Harrison,  in  full  uniform,  towered  in 
the  midst.  I  was  near  enough  to  the  condemned  to 
observe  that  he  trembled  like  an  aspen,  and  writhed 
in  all  the  bitterness  of  hopeless  death.  The  thrill- 
ing word  was  given,  "Make  ready!  take  aim!" 
Here  the  General  waved  his  hand  to  the  officer,  and 
announced  to  the  trembling  deserter  that  his  sin  was 
forgiven.  He  then  solemnly  raised  his  right  hand 
to  heaven,  and  pledged  himself,  before  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  and  God  of  the  armies  of  heaven,  that  the 
next  deserter  who  should  be  condemned  by  a  court- 
martial  should  die.  Harrison  was  always  beloved 
by  his  men,  but  never  did  he  appear  more  majestic 
or  more  lovely  than  he  did  on  that  occasion. 
The  poor  young  man  seemed  for  a  while  petrified, 
and  utterly  incapable  of  comprehending  the  sum  of 
benevolence;  but  when  restored  to  his  quarters  he 
gave  loose  to  the  most  unbounded  joy.  The  next 
day  he  was  employed  on  fatigue,  in  driving  an  ox 
cart.  As  he  went,  he  leaped,  and  danced,  and  sung, 
and  squealed,  and  seemed  to  be  seeking,  in  every 
member,  every  faculty,  every  sense,  for  some  vital 
testimony  that  he  was  alive,  and  not  dead. 


ENEMY    PURSUED.  149 


ENEMY   PURSUED-DISCHARGED- 
HOME. 

THE  news  of  Perry's  victory  set  every  thing  in 
motion  again.  The  army  was  marched  down  to 
Sandusky  Bay,  and  thence  transported  by  boats  to 
Put-in  Bay,  a  beautiful  harbor  formed  on  the  bosom 
of  the  lake  by  the  position  of  some  islands.  In 
this  bay  lay  the  American  squadron,  with  its  cap- 
tured fleet,  entirely  land-locked.  It  was  distressing, 
in  the  dark  watches  of  the  night,  to  hear  the  ago- 
nizing groans  of  the  wounded  and  dying  on  board 
the  hospital-ship,  who  had  suffered  in  the  late  con- 
flict. On  these  islands  we  rested  a  few  days.  While 
here,  another  deserter  was  brought  in.  He  was 
condemned.  The  usual  solemn  preliminaries  were 
attended  to — the  word  given ;  but  there  was  no 
Harrison  on  the  field  to  wave  the  signal  of  mercy, 
and  the  poor  criminal  fell. 

At  last  the  important  day  came,  which  was  to 
land  us  on  the  shores  of  our  enemies.  The  army 
embarked  in  the  fleet  and  a  great  multitude  of  boats 
which  had  been  gathered  together.  The  General, 
with  the  Petersburg,  Virginia,  volunteers,  sailed  on 
board  the  Ariel,  with  Commodore  Perry.  The 


150  THE    SWORD. 

morning  was  beautiful  beyond  description.  The 
sun  shone  with  refulgent  splendor  on  our  polished 
arms.  The  martial  waving  of  the  snow-white 
plumes  of  the  officers,  the  various  uniforms  of  reg- 
ulars and  volunteers,  the  solemn  silence,  interrupted 
only  by  the  regular  movement  of  springing  oars, 
altogether  formed  a  scene  awfully  grand.  But  the 
scene  became  still  more  imposing,  when,  arriving 
within  a  few  rods  of  the  shore,  every  soldier  ex- 
pecting to  breast  the  fury  of  an  ambushed  foe,  all 
at  once  the  flapping  banner  of  our  host  was  unfurled 
to  the  whistling  wind,  the  concentrated  music  of  the 
whole  army  burst,  in  a  national  air,  .on  the  ears 
of  a  feeling  soldiery,  and  the  whole  atmosphere 
around  us  was  filled  with  the  shouts  of  freemen. 
It  was  terrible,  even  to  ourselves,  although  our 
bosoms  swelled  high  with  the  expectation  of  victory, 
and  every  heart  throbbed  with  national  pride  at 
the  sublimity  of  the  scene.  In  one  moment  the 
extended  line  of  boats  struck  the  shore,  and  in  the 
next  the  whole  embattled  host  stood  on  the  bank. 
"We  took  up  our  line  of  march  for  Maiden.  But 
we  soon  learned  that  the  fort  had  been  fired,  and 
that  the  English  had  retreated.  All  had  fled  but 
the  brave  Tecumseh.  The  citizens  told  us  that  he 
sat  on  his  faithful  charger,  at  the  head  of  the 
street,  and  looked  till  he  saw  the  van  of  our  army 
entering  the  suburbs  below.  He  then  turned  his 
horse  with  a  sigh,  and  as  the  Americans  entered 
one  end  of  the  town,  he  slowly  rode  out  of  the 


ENEMY     PURSUED.  151 

other.  He  had  exhausted  all  his  eloquence  in  try- 
ing to  persuade  the  British  general  to  leave  him 
and  his  braves  in  possession  of  the  fort.  Those 
who  had  an  opportunity  of  knowing  him,  said  he 
was  as  much  superior  to  Proctor  in  humanity  as  he 
was  in  courage.  To  finish  his  history  at  once,  we 
will  add,  that  he  fell  in  the  battle  that  followed,  in 
the  midst  of  his  people,  that  were  stationed  in -the 
swamp,  and,  as  they  say,  pierced  with  many  balls; 
and  was  buried  four  miles  in  the  rear.  There  we 
suspect  he  remains  to  the  present  day.  And  the 
razor-strops,  and  other  precious  relics,  that  will  be 
handed  down  to  future  generations,  as  samples  of 
his  hide,  are  all,  as  the  old  chief  himself  would  ex- 
press it,  "  ee-shaw."  And  we  believe  if  his  resur- 
rection should  take  place  to-morrow,  it  would  inter- 
rupt nobody's  shaving  utensils  in  Kentucky  or  else- 
where. 

As  soon  as  possible  we  went  in  pursuit  of  the  en- 
emy. It  was  my  fortune  to  go  by  way  of  the  lake. 
We  soon  found  that  we  had  not  yet  passed  through 
all  the  shades  of  military  starvation.  Before  we 
crossed  the  lake,  we  had  our  rations  issued  for  sev- 
eral days,  and  were  ordered  to  jerk  our  beef,  to  the 
end  that  it  might  be  better  preserved,  and  made 
more  convenient  to  carry.  And  it  was,  indeed, 
made  much  more  convenient  to  carry,  because,  by 
that  process,  it  became  so  depreciated  in  size  and 
weight,  that  it  did  not  last  more  than  half  the  time 
contemplated.  And  now  we  had  to  embark  destitute 


152  THE    SWORD. 

of  sea  stores.  It  is  true,  we  had  the  privilege,  three 
times  in  each  day,  of  ranging  our  noses  around  the 
caboose,  while  the  jolly  tars  served  up  their  allow- 
ance in  almost  all  the  variety  of  culinary  science. 
This  was  the  more  aggravating  to  me,  as  among 
their  dishes  I  recognized  many  an  old  acquaintance, 
which  I  had  not  tasted  since  I  last  entered  Cape 
Henry.  There  was  the  "duff,"  the  "chowder,"  the 
smoking  "lobschouse,"  and  that,  too,  served  up  in 
the  very  fac-simile  of  my  old  smoked  tin-pot,  out 
of  which  I  had  quaffed  many  a  gallon  of  tea,  and 
other  good  things,  in  by-gone  days.  Meantime,  the 
sailors  looked  carelessly  among  us,  as  if  they  thought 
gentlemen  of  the  army  lived  upon  the  wind.  I  had 
a  great  mind  to  reveal  myself  to  them,  and  fall 
upon  their  sympathies;  but  as  I  had  taken  it  upon 
myself  to  sustain  the  character  of  a  soldier,  for  the 
time  being,  I  concluded  to  endure  hardness  as  a 
good  soldier.  We  went  on  board  hungry — we  were 
hungry  through  the  whole  cruise,  and  were  at  last 
landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Thames  as  ravenous  as 
wolves.  For  several  miles  we  marched  through  a 
mixed  population  of  French  and  Yankees,  and 
gathered  up  enough  scraps  to  keep  soul  and  body 
together.  At  last  we  encamped  in  a  beautiful 
neighborhood  that  was  settled  by  Scotchmen,  who 
were  more  loyal  than  the  Englishmen.  They  would 
neither  give  nor  sell  to  His  Majesty's  enemies. 
They  acknowledged  that  we  had  ample  power  to 
take;  that  was  one  thing;  but  to  collude  with  the 


ENEMY    PURSUED.  153 

enemy  was  another.  It  was  against  general  orders 
to  plunder,  and  our  battalion  had  strictly  obeyed. 
But  now  we  had  come  to  our  wit's  end.  At  last 
our  commander  said,  "Boys,  you  see  your  case:  we 
can  get  nothing  from  these  farms  for  love  or  money : 
there  is  no  alternative  but  to  help  yourselves."  One 
of  every  mess  took  his  tomahawk,  and  walking 
about  the  fields,  brought  in  an  abundance  of  pigs, 
turkeys,  geese,  etc.;  and  there  was  great  feasting  in 
the  camp. 

At  last  our  van  came  up  with  the  enemy.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  give  a  particular  account  of  the 
battle,  as  it  has  been  so  often  described.  Indeed, 
there  is  but  little  to  be  said  about  it.  The  Ken- 
tucky mounted  men  rushed  down  upon  their  lines 
like  a  hurricane,  and  swept  all  before  them.  It  was 
a  momentary  conflict.  The  whole  army  surrendered. 
The  Indians  on  the  flank  prolonged  the  fight  for 
a  while,  but  soon  fled.  Our  battalion,  which  consti- 
tuted the  rear  guard,  could  not  get  up  in  time  to 
stop  a  ball;  and  I  for  one  was  right  glad  of  it;  for 
our  time  of  service  was  now  expired,  and  the  word 
"home,  sweet  home,"  seemed  to  gather  additional 
charms  every  day.  We  returned  to  Detroit  by  the 
lake.  The  weather  was  unusually  squally.  The 
vessel  that  I  was  in  carried  an  enormous  gun  amid- 
ships. It  was  lashed  fore  and  aft.  The  militia 
becoming  very  seasick,  crowded  down  the  main 
hatchway  into  the  hold.  We  were  suddenly  struck 
by  a  squall,  when  the  Long  Tom  breaking  the  lash- 


154  THE     SWORD. 

ing  at  the  muzzle,  slued  down  to  leeward,  and  the 
schooner  was  struck  down  on  her  beam-end.  The 
water  gushed  into  the  hatchway  —  the  soldiers 
gushed  out  by  platoons.  Those  who  were  on  deck 
held  on  for  their  lives,  and  every  soul  expected  in  a 
few  minutes  to  be  in  eternity.  A  sailor  who  was 
down  in  the  scuppers,  had  the  presence  of  mind  to 
let  fly  the  fore-sheet,  when  she  partially  righted, 
and  the  gun  was  secured,  and  the  sail  shortened. 
It  was,  however,  a  very  narrow  escape.  Though 
alarmed,  I  recollect,  in  the  midst  of  the  danger,  a 
mortification — a  kind  of  cheapness  seemed  to  creep 
over  me  at  the  thought,  that  after  I  had  traversed 
over  so  many  mountain  swells,  and  had  escaped  so 
many  dangers,  on  the  wide  Atlantic,  I  was  about  to 
be  cast  away  in  a  mill-pond,  comparatively.  We 
safely  arrived  at  Detroit,  where,  shortly  after,  we 
were  discharged  on  the  public  parade,  the  General 
pronouncing  over  us  a  high  encomium,  and  declaring 
that  we  had  set  an  example  of  military  subordina- 
tion to  the  whole  army. 

After  our  discharge  we  were  landed  in  Cleveland, 
and  left  at  perfect  liberty  to  follow  our  own  course. 
The  citizens  of  Cleveland  and  vicinity  showed  us  no 
little  kindness  the  few  days  we  rested  among  them. 
We  diverted  ourselves  much  with  one  little  circum- 
stance; and  that  was,  the  citizens,  from  the  lordly 
dome  to  the  log-cabin,  were  mostly  either  generals,  or 
colonels,  or  majors,  or  captains,  or — squires,  any  how. 
We  could  scarce  find  a  man  without  some  kind  of 


ENEMY     PURSUED.  155 

handle  to  his  name.  Here  I  stood  on  the  shore 
of  the  lake,  high  and  dry,  and  said  in  my  heart, 
"  One  woe  is  passed !  I  shall  no  more  travel  that 
ugly,  muddy  road  from  Chillicothe  to  Columbus ! 
I  shall  no  more  flounder  over  the  snow-drifted 
plains  of  Crawford !  I  shall  no  more  shiver  on  the 
bleak  banks  of  the  Sandusky !  I  will  hie  me  home 
to  my  own  sunny  Appomattox,  and  perhaps  live 
and  die  on  its  verdant  banks."  But  there  is  a 
book,  a  blessed  but  mystic  book,  which  says,  "It  is 
not  in  man  to  direct  his  steps."  Little  did  I  then 
think  that,  in  less  than  twelve  years,  it  would  be 
my  allotted  duty  to  stand  in  the  city  of  Columbus, 
and  preach  to  listening  congregations  the  Gospel  of 
the  Son  of  God.  Little  did  I  think  that,  in  a  few 
years  more,  the  house,  the  very  house  in  Delaware 
that  sheltered  the  benumbed  and  weather-beaten 
soldier,  should  be  his  parsonage,  while  he  should 
travel  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  plains  of 
Crawford,  not  an  unpeopled  solitude,  but  beautifully 
spotted  with  farms  and  dwellings  —  in  Summer  a 
boundless  prospect  of  undulating  grass,  and  fragrant 
flowers  of  almost  every  form  and  shade — in  Winter 
a  sea  of  crusted  snow,  over  which  the  sailor  might 
glide  at  large  in  his  bounding  jumper,  and,  in  his 
high-wrought  imagination,  live  over  his  Atlantic 
rambles.  Little  did  I  think  that  there,  even  there, 
I  should  mingle  with  the  congregated  saints,  hear 
the  shout  of  heaven-born  souls,  and,  least  of  all, 
that  I  even — even  the  sinner,  I — should  rejoice  in 


156  THE    SWORD. 

the  sound  with  a  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory. 
But  all  this  came  to  pass.  While  laboring  in  that 
section  of  our  work,  I  was  strongly  solicited  by 
Eussel  Bigelow,  the  superintendent  of  the  mission, 
to  visit  the  "Keserve."  I  did  so  on  a  quarterly 
meeting  occasion.  While  preaching  to  the  Indians, 
through  an  Indian  interpreter,  I  mentioned  that  I 
had  once  earnestly  sought  them  before,  with  my 
body  clothed  in  hostile  armor,  and  murder  in  my 
heart;  but  that,  in  examining  my  soul,  I  found  that 
God  had  gotten  to  himself  a  greater  victory  there; 
for  now  the  weapons  of  my  warfare  were  no  longer 
carnal,  and  the  theme  that  I  most  delighted  in  was 
peace  on  earth,  good-will  toward  men.  To  give 
them  a  clearer  understanding  of  my  position  in  the 
last  war,  I  told  them  that  I  belonged  to  that  com- 
pany which  the  Indians  used  to  call,  "The  men 
with  the  silver  birds  in  their  caps"  As  I  mentioned 
this,  significant  glances  were  thrown  round  the 
assembly,  and  my  interpreter  faltered  as  he  gave  it 
out.  As  soon  as  the  service  was  over,  he  declared 
that  he  was  with  the  hostile  Indians  that  defended 
the  British  battery  against  the  sally  from  Fort 
Meigs,  and  that  he  fought  against  that  very  com- 
pany. He  said  the  Indians  were  particularly  anx- 
ious to  kill  our  men;  for  they  thought  that  the 
silver-leaf  spread  eagles  on  our  helmets  were  made 
of  the  solid  stuff.  Brother  Bigelow  took  advantage 
of  this  circumstance  while  administering  the  sacra- 
ment next  morning.  He  laid  one  hand  on  my  head, 


DISCHARGED.  157 

and  the  other  on  the  interpreter,  and  said,  "Breth- 
ren, these  two,  during  the  last  war,  were  arrayed 
in  hateful  strife  against  each  other;  but  behold  the 
victories  of  the  Cross!  they  are  now  kneeling,  in 
Christian  fellowship  and  communion,  at  this  table, 
to  show  forth  the  death  of  their  common  Lord  and 
Savior."  The  effect  on  the  white  part  of  the  con- 
gregation was  powerful;  but  as  the  interpreter  gave 
it  in  excited  and  broken  accents  to  the  nation,  it 
was  overwhelming. 

Our  company  being  broke  up  at  Cleveland,  we 
scattered  in  little  social  bands,  in  different  routes, 
to  seek  our  homes.  I  traveled  in  company  with 
three  of  my  most  intimate  friends.  Our  reception, 
or  treatment,  on  the  way,  was  various,  according 
to  the  religious  and  political  views  of  the  people. 
One  of  our  company  became  lame  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  journey,  which  retarded  us  consider- 
ably. In  this  dilemma  we  saw  a  very  starch-look- 
ing Quaker  overtaking  us  with  a  led  horse.  At 
this  sight  our  comrade's  limping  evidently  in- 
creased, and  his  pain  became  almost  insupportable. 
We  each  made  a  very  low  and  handsome  bow  to 
the  stranger  as  he  approached;  but  no  response  did 
we  receive.  We,  however,  surrounded  him,  and 
with  the  most  moving  eloquence  that  we  could 
command,  began  to  intercede  for  our  lame  friend. 
He  very  roughly  refused  us,  declaring  that  be  had 
nothing  to  do  with  war  or  any  who  were  concerned 
in  it.  This  exasperated  our  invalid,  and  he  began 


158  THE    SWORD. 

to  be  abusive.  I  told  him  this  was  wrong.  Per- 
haps the  Quaker  was  conscientious  in  this  matter. 
No  doubt  he  thought  he  would  be  doing  the  devil 
service  by  giving  him  a  seat  in  the  vacant  saddle. 
This  was  like  throwing  oil  on  the  flame.  "Con- 
scientious, indeed !  What,  too  conscientious  to  give 
a  lift  to  a  poor  lame  soldier,  who  has  been  fighting 
the  battles  of  his  country?"  "Yes,  it  is  even  so, 
and  you  may  just  as  well  coil  down,  and  take  the 
world  as  it  is,  and  not  as  it  ought  to  be."  0,  give 
us  forever  that  religion 

"Which  hates  the  sin,  but  still  the  sinner  loves" — 

which  hates  war,  but  is  ever  ready  to  mitigate  the 
evils  and  heal  the  wounds  which  war  has  made! 

We  sometimes  met  with  those  who  were  polit- 
ically opposed  to  the  war.  They  also  answered  us 
roughly.  At  other  times  we  had  to  do  with  real 
patriots — true  blues.  Among  these  were  women, 
not  a  few,  who,  with  moistened  eyes,  blessed  us,  as 
we  passed,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  When  we 
were  well  advanced  in  our  journey,  we  fell  in  with 
a  company  of  loafers,  a  kind  of  people  who,  as  soon 
as  they  see  any  person  or  new  thing,  begin  to  cast 
about  in  their  minds  what  they  can  make  of  it. 
They  chose  to  look  upon  us  as  deserters,  and  set 
about  to  arrest  us.  We  labored  with  many  argu- 
ments, to  prove  that  we  were  true  men;  but  all  to 
no  purpose.  When  we  found  that  they  were  medi- 
tating to  carry  us  to  Washington,  we  concluded, 
on  consultation,  that  such  a  ride,  at  their  expense, 


DISCHARGED.  159 

would  advance  us  considerably  toward  home,  and  it 
was  more  than  probable  that  when  Uncle  Sam 
recognized  us  as  his  old  fast  friends,  he  would  lift 
us  still  farther  by  way  of  indemnity.  So  we  con- 
cluded to  be  deserters,  if  they  would  have  it  so. 
But  when  they  found  that  we  had  become  so  well 
reconciled  to  a  jaunt,  they  began  to  conclude  we 
were  Virginians,  and  possibly  Virginia  volunteers. 
We  now  walked  rapidly,  sometimes  as  many  as 
forty-five  miles  in  a  day.  Our  money  also  went 
rapidly,  and  our  purse  began  to  wrinkle  with  age. 
On  the  evening  of  a  beautiful  day,  we  were  enter- 
ing the  romantic  town  of  Winchester.  A  gentle- 
man rode  hastily  by,  making  a  profound  bow.  He 
quickly  turned  his  horse,  and  inquired  if  we  were 
of  the  Virginia  volunteers.  Being  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  he  put  whip  and  spurs  to  his  horse,  and 
was  soon  hid  from  our  view  by  the  houses  in  the 
suburbs.  At  the  head  of  the  main  street,  we  were 
met  by  several  young  men,  who  conducted  us  to 
the  hotel,  and  ordered  a  splendid  supper.  Their 
number  continually  increased;  and  we  found  that 
they  were  members  of  a  volunteer  company  that 
had  served  a  tour  on  the  sea-board,  and  were,  there- 
fore, tenderly  alive  to  our  sufferings.  We  sat  up  to 
a  late  hour,  indulging  in  a  social  interchange  of  our 
adventures.  One  of  their  company  was  truly  a 
singular  genius.  He  was  famous  for  his  extempo- 
raneous effusions  in  the  way  of  song.  The  com- 
pany requested  us  to  propose  some  topic  of  national 


160  THE    SWORD. 

interest.  This  we  did  twice  or  thrice,  but  he  sung 
them  off  in  such  a  masterly  manner,  that  we  could 
not  help  surmising  that  he  had  previously  exercised 
his  pen  on  almost  every  subject  of  public  notoriety. 
The  company  then  proposed  that  we  would  relate 
some  incident  that  had  transpired  in  the  western 
army,  which  was  not  generally  known,  provided  it 
was  sufficiently  stirring  to  elicit  his  zeal.  This  we 
did.  And  after  clearing  his  throat,  and  attending 
to  all  the  preliminaries  that  good  singers  always 
observe  by  note,  he  caroled  forth  a  beautiful  versi- 
fication of  the  whole  matter.  When  the  company 
broke  they  paid  off  the  bill,  including  in  the  set- 
tlement a  warm  and  early  breakfast  for  the  poor 
soldiers.  Such  a  windfall  as  this  would  have  been 
considered  only  as  a  circumstance  in  our  jolly  debut 
into  the  military  life;  but  coming  to  disbanded 
soldiers,  displumed  of  all  martial  attractions,  it  was 
truly  grateful. 

The  day  before  we  entered  Fredericksburg  we 
had  spent  our  all.  And  although  it  was  a  lovely 
day  overhead,  yet  our  hearts  were  sad,  as  we 
deliberated  on  our  situation.  "We  were  far  from 
home.  We  had  not  time  to  dig,  and  to  beg  we 
were  ashamed.  When  we  entered  into  the  town, 
we  naturally  stepped  into  the  first  tavern,  as  stage- 
horses  would  stop  at  a  post-office.  We  had  hardly 
seated  ourselves,  when  a  schoolmate  of  mine  en- 
tered. He  immediately  recognized  me;  and,  after 
a  few  friendly  remarks,  requested  me  to  step  out 


DISCHARGED.  161 

with  him.     He  took  me  into  a  retired  part  of  the 
yard,  and  looking  round,  as  if  to  see  whether  any 
fowls  of  the  air  were  hovering  about,  and  as  if  he 
meditated    some    grand    outrage    on    fallen    human 
nature,  he  asked  me,  in  a  subdued  tone,  how  I  was 
off  for  funds.     I  plainly  and  honestly  replied  that 
the   "last  shot  in  the   locker"  was   expended.     A 
flush  of  humanity  suffused  his  benevolent  brow,  and 
he  put  his  hand   in  his  pocket.     I  knew  that  his 
family  was  of  Virginia's  noblest  stock.     And  from 
all  that  I  had  seen   in  our  school-boy  days,  I  be- 
lieved that  he  had  inherited  all  the  nobility  of  his 
house.    Therefore  I  could  not  accuse  my  eyes  of  pre- 
sumption, when  I  felt  that  they  were  anticipating 
the  circumference  of  a  full  "shiner" — a  Dei  Gratia, 
a  Spanish   dollar — for   which   I  would   have   been 
truly  thankful.     But  the  reader  may  guess  how  my 
soul  was  flooded  with  joy  and  gratitude,  when  he 
presented    me    with    a    twenty-dollar   note,   and   a 
handsome  apology,  that  he  was  on  a  journey,  and 
knew  not  how  long  he  would  be  gone,  otherwise  he 
would  give  me  more.     He  then  fled  from  my  over- 
flowing soul  and  eyes,  as  if  he  had  perpetrated  will- 
ful murder.     I  know  not  whether  he  is  still  living; 
but,  dead  or  alive,  I  still  pray  for  him,  as  the  old 
'negro  said,  "at  a  venture."     I  may  be  in  the  same 
fix  that   the  pious   sister  P.,  of  Xenia,   once  was. 
When  we  moved  to  this  State,  more  than  twenty 
years    ago,   she    inquired    about  an   old    Methodist 
preacher,  whom  she  had  highly  esteemed.     We  told 


162  THE    SWORD. 

her  he  had  been  dead  about  six  years.  "Dear,  dear 
me!"  said  the  old  lady,  "why  did  they  not  send  me 
word?  I  have  been  praying  for  him  faithfully, 
night  and  day,  six  years,  and  he  all  the  time  safely 
landed  in  heaven !"  I  went  into  the  tavern,  and 
gave  my  comrades  a  pluck;  but  they  seemed  to  be 
fast  moored.  Poor  fellows,  they  still  had  a  faint 
hope  that  some  liberal  loafer  would  offer  them  a 
drink,  or  luncheon,  or  something  of  the  kind.  But 
at  last  they  weighed  anchor,  though  I  could  hardly 
tow  them  along.  Every  step  they  took  seemed  to 
indicate  that  they  looked  for  nothing  but  ruin  and 
starvation  beyond  the  corporation  of  Fredericks- 
burg.  But  when  we  had  got  beyond  the  public 
gaze,  I  said,  "Cheer  up,  boys;  Providence  has  sent 
me  a  breeze.  I  am  now  able  to  take  the  stage,  and 
reel  it  off  at  the  rate  of  eight  knots  an  hour,  home- 
ward bound;  but  for  your  sakes  I  forbear.  If  you 
will  be  economical,  leave  off  this  tavern  fare,  and 
let  me  be  your  purser,  I  will  take  you  all  home." 
I  then  stepped  into  a  grocery,  and  stored  our  knap- 
sacks well  with  cheese  and  crackers,  and  we  moved 
on  with  fresh  life. 

At  last  we  arrived  at  Richmond.  Here,  at  the 
commencement  of  our  career,  every  door  was  open 
to  us.  But  now  the  returning  soldier  passed  along 
unheeded,  unrecognized.  At  last  a  poor  man — I 
believe  a  pious  man — invited  us  to  his  home,  to 
take  pot-luck.  And  this  he  did,  not  through  osten- 
tation or  vainglory,  but  sheer  benevolence.  We 


HOME.  163 

found  that  girding  on  the  armor  was  one  thing, 
and  taking  it  off  was  another;  and  we  were  well 
convinced  that  a  young  man  of  fruitful  imagination 
might  reap  all  the  honor  and  glory  of  war  in  the 
domestic  muster-field,  without  suffering  any  of  its 
evils.  Here  our  little  platoon  scattered  again.  I 
had  twenty-five  miles  to  go  to  reach  home.  This 
distance  was  measured  leisurely,  soberly,  thought- 
fully, with  an  intention  to  make  my  return  after 
nightfall.  In  all  my  returns  home,  by  land  or 
water,  I  loved  to  come  in  under  the  cover  of  night. 
About  dusk  I  crossed  the  Appomattox,  on  Pocahon- 
tas  bridge — trod  lightly  over  Sandy  beach — entered 
Bolingbrooke-street.  It  was  now  dark.  I  was 
closely  scrutinized  by  every  passenger,  but  had 
drawn  my  helmet  down.  I  can  not  describe  my 
feelings  as  the  familiar  scenes  of  my  bright  boyhood 
came  up  in  quick  succession.  At  last  I  stood,  with 
almost  breathless  agitation,  at  my  home's  door.  A 
few  faint  raps — raised  the  latch,  and  stood  in  the 
presence  of  my  mother.  She  lifted  her  eyes,  gave 
one  shrill  scream,  and  exclaimed,  "O  Alfred! 
Alfred !  my  son  Alfred !"  A  pious  lady,  who  lived 
in  the  next  tenement,  and  whose  soul  was,  relig- 
iously speaking,  on  the  hair-spring  order,  and  who, 
moreover,  always  levied  a  contribution  of  honey, 
more  or  less,  on  the  most  poisonous  bitters  of  life, 
as  they  passed,  heard  the  exclamation.  It  reminded 
her  of  David,  "weeping  as  he  went,  and  saying, 
0  Absalom,  Absalom,  my  son  Absalom !"  This 


164  THE    SWORD. 

sprung  a  class  of  reflections  that  instantaneously 
exploded  in  a  shout.  My  little  sisters,  and  neigh- 
bors, and  acquaintances  crowded  round.  And  here 
my  pen  would  paint  a  domestic  scene;  but  perhaps 
my  fair  readers  might  drop  a  tear  or  two,  inflame 
their  eyes,  and  put  their  lips  out  of  "prim;"  and 
this  might  anger  you,  and  ye  might  say,  as  a  cer- 
tain lady,  who  takes  more  liberties  with  me  than 
any  other,  sometimes  says,  "Pshaw!  Mr.  L.,  you 
certainly  are  the  childishest  man  that  ever  was." 


THE    CAPTURED    BUGLE.  165 


XI. 

THE   CAPTURED    BUGLE. 

IT  is  not  generally  known  that  after  the  long 
siege  of  Fort  Meigs  the  enemy  invested  that  post 
the  second  time.  Although  this  is  but  slightly  or 
incidentally  mentioned  in  some  accounts  of  the  last 
war,  yet  it  was  an  expedition  that  was  largely  pre- 
sumed on  by  the  English.  The  intention  was  to 
carry  out  a  stratagem  which  had  been  conceived 
and  principally  planned  by  the  celebrated  Indian 
chieftain  Tecumseh.  It  is  spoken  of  to  the  present 
day,  by  the  veterans  of  the  Rapids,  as  "  Tecumseh's 
sham  battle."  After  the  first  repulse  of  the  British, 
measures  of  very  strict  precaution  were  adopted. 
One  improvement  was  the  establishment  of  a  picket 
guard  in  the  edge  of  the  clearing,  to  prevent  a  sur- 
prise. This  guard  was  generally  marched  out  at 
the  rising,  and  remanded  into  the  fort  at  the  setting 
of  the  sun.  The  post  was  occupied  at  first  with 
true  military  vigilance.  But  as  no  enemy  appeared 
for  some  time,  the  soldiers  became  very  careless. 
They  would  sometimes  stack  their  arms,  kindle  a 
fire,  and  spend  the  whole  day  in  telling  stories, 
playing  cards,  etc.  One  lovely  morning,  as  the 


166  THE    SWORD. 

guard  was  marching  out,  not  strictly  in  the  order 
of  battle,  and  were  within  a  few  yards  of  their  post, 
as  many  as  eight  or  ten  rifles  blazed  away  from 
the  thicket,  and  not  more  than  two  men  made  good 
their  retreat.  It  was  soon  evident  that  we  were 
again  surrounded  by  an  English  and  Indian  force. 
They  lay  round  our  fortress  for  several  days.  As 
no  batteries  were  constructed,  and  no  besieging  en- 
gines or  apparatus  could  be  discovered,  the  general 
belief  was  that  they  meditated  a  storm.  Indeed, 
constant  efforts  were  made  to  deepen  this  impression. 
Every  morning  before  daylight,  they  marched  round 
the  fort — at  a  respectable  distance,  of  course — playing 
on  a  single  instrument,  which  poured  forth  the  most 
perfect  and  lovely  music  of  the  kind  which  we  had 
ever  heard.  Mullen,  who  was  one  of  the  volunteer- 
band,  and  who  was  passionately  fond  of  instrumental 
music,  would  listen  with  the  most  profound  but 
quizzical  attention,  presenting  either  ear  alternately, 
blinking  significantly,  like  a  magpie,  till  the  close 
of  the  air,  and  then  would  exclaim,  with  the 
strongest  assurance  imaginable,  "Boys,  I  will  never 
see  Petersburg  again  till  I  blow  a  blast  with  that 
same  sweet  bugle."  This  always  provoked  a  burst 
of  incredulous  laughter;  but  as  often  as  the  music 
came  round,  he  would  repeat  his  unreasonable 
prophecy,  to  the  no  small  diversion  of  his  comrades. 
After  the  enemy  had  made  their  pompous  and 
harmless  promenades,  till  they  had  lost  both  their 
novelty  and  terror,  they  aimed  to  carry  into  execu- 


THE    CAPTURED    BUGLE.  16? 

tion  the  scheme  of  their  grand  ambuscade.  About 
10,  A.  M.,  on  a  sultry  morning,  a  distant,  continu- 
ous roar  of  small  arms  was  heard  on  the  Sandusky 
road,  but  heard  very  indistinctly.  The  sound,  how- 
ever, rapidly  increased.  It  seemed  as  if  a  reen- 
forcement  was  fighting  its  way  to  the  camp.  Hark ! 
hark !  Now  they  rush  on  with  an  impetuosity  that 
bears  down  all  opposition.  Louder  and  louder  — 
nigher  and  nigher!  Well  done,  old  Kentuck! 
Now  they  will  cut  their  way  through,  in  spite  of 
redcoats  or  red  skins. 

But  now,  alas!  alas!  they  retreat,  they  fly! 
They  are  making  back  for  Sandusky.  The  din  of 
the  battle  recedes  toward  the  settlement.  No,  no; 
they  rally  to  the  charge.  Onward  the  human  tem- 
pest comes — "enlarging,  deepening,  mingling  peal 
on  peal."  Now  they  have  almost  gained  the  clear- 
ing— columns  of  smoke  are  seen  rolling  up  among 
the  branches  of  the  trees  —  the  roar  of  rifles  and 
musketry,  the  shrieks  of  the  wounded  and  dying, 
the  shouts  of  the  soldiers,  the  brutal  yells  of  the 
savages  are  heard.  All  the  horrors  of  the  battle-field 
are  about  to  burst  upon  our  sight.  The  soldiers  in 
the  garrison  are  standing  at  their  posts  in  almost 
breathless  anxiety,  with  their  strained  and  aching 
eyes  fastened  on  the  underbrush,  expecting  every 
moment  to  see  our  victorious  band  make  their 
debut,  amid  the  cheers  and  huzzas  of  the  whole 
fortress.  But  0,  sad  reverse!  A  general  flight 
commences.  The  British  and  Indians  seem  to  drive 


168  THE    SWORD. 

the  retreating  forces  like  sheep  to  the  slaughter. 
At  this  juncture  the  troops  in  the  fort  became 
almost  unmanageable.  "There,"  said  some,  "see 
how  they  are  driving  and  cutting  up  our  men,  our 
friends,  our  BRETHREN,  who  have  pressed  to  relieve 
us,  and  that  right  under  our  guns!  Here  we  are 
with  our  hands  in  our  pockets — where  is  the  Gen- 
eral? 0,  if  Harrison  was  only  in  the  fort!"  Some 
could  scarcely  be  restrained  by  the  officers  from 
springing  over  the  picketing,  while  some  wept  like 
children.  Messengers  were  dispatched  through  the 
lines  with  the  information  that  the  commander  had 
received,  the  evening  before,  an  express  from  Har- 
rison, stating  that  he  would  send  on  no  reenforce- 
ments.  While  the  running  fight  was  raging  in  all 
its  fury,  an  unusually  black  cloud,  which  had  been 
gathering  over  our  heads  for  some  time,  began  to 
discharge  its  magazines  of  forked  lightning  and 
deafening  thunder.  In  a  few  minutes  the  rain  fell 
in  mighty  torrents.  The  martial  flame  of  ardent 
warriors  became  quenched,  and  in  one  moment  the 
clamor  of  battle  ceased. 

We  were  told  by  prisoners,  that  several  of  Te- 
cumseh's  men  realized,  by  fatal  experience,  that  the 
battle,  so  far  as  they  were  concerned,  was  no  sham 
at  all.  The  Irish  soldiers  cherished  such  a  mortal 
hatred  to  their  red  allies,  that  they  occasionally 
dropped  in  a  bullet,  and  laid  some  of  their  finest 
braves  on  the  ground.  We  were  subsequently  in- 
formed that,  pending  the  engagement,  the  English 


THE    CAPTURED    BUGLE.  169 

cavalry  were  posted  both  above  and  below  the  fort, 
under  cover  of  the  forest.  Their  orders  were  to 
rush  between  the  garrison  and  combatants,  as  soon 
as  a  sortie  might  be  made.  It  was  also  contem- 
plated to  make  a  sudden  assault,  by  choice  troops, 
on  the  most  defenseless  quarter  of  the  camp  at  the 
same  time.  In  all  this  our  enemies  were  disap- 
pointed. Being  much  chagrined  by  their  entire  fail- 
ure, and  believing  the  old  proverb,  that  "  a  half  of  a 
loaf  is  better  than  no  loaf,"  they  confidently  filed  off 
to  Fort  Stevenson,  to  take  that  "for  certain."  But 
here  they  met  a  very  disgraceful  defeat.  Soon  after, 
the  army  at  Meigs  marched  for  Camp  Seneca,  to 
await  the  battle  that  was  expected  on  the  lake. 
There  were  the  prisoners  who  had  been  taken  at 
Fort  Stevenson,  and  among  them  the  little  trum- 
peter who  had  so  often  and  so  untimely  partly 
charmed  and  partly  frightened  us  to  our  quarters. 
And  Mullen — yes,  Mullen — had  the  inexpressible 
satisfaction  of  giving  us  his  best  nourish  on  the 
captured  BUGLE.  But  as  slavery  debases  all  sub- 
jected to  its  malign  touch,  the  sweet  instrument 
was  stripped  of  all  that  interest  and  melody  with 
which  peculiar  circumstances  had  graced  it.  It  no 
longer  threw  its  wild  notes  over  the  nocturnal  soli- 
tude of  the  Maumee,  and  told  a  startled  enemy  that 
it  was  followed  by  "an  army  with  banners."  In- 
deed, its  legitimate  owner,  like  the  captive  Israelite, 
could  no  longer  breathe  with  complacency  the  loyal 

airs  of  old  England  "in  a  strange  land." 

15 


170  THE    CROSS. 


XII. 

RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE-LORENZO 
DOW. 

IN  entering  on  this  subject  we  need  not  go  back 
to  that  sweet  and  timely  introduction  which  I  had 
to  the  power  of  Divine  grace  in  early  childhood,  of 
which  we  have  written.  Like  many  of  the  children 
of  our  people,  for  several  years  I  felt  that  vacilla- 
ting conflict  so  closely  described  by  an  inspired 
apostle — "the  flesh  warring  against  the  Spirit,  and 
the  Spirit  warring  against  the  flesh" — now  careless 
or  reckless;  now  repenting  and  weeping. 

But  suddenly  there  was  a  report  in  our  land  that 
a  wild  man — a  preacher  diverse  from  all  others — was 
making  his  way  into  Lower  Virginia.  He  had  a 
solemn  presentiment  that  his  days  were  numbered, 
and  he  was  drawing  nigh  to  his  terminus.  In  after- 
life he  insisted  that  this  decree  was  reversed  by  his 
going  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  England  and  Ireland. 
He  slept  on  the  floor,  and  was  very  abstemious. 
He  received  no  money  unless  it  was  clear  to  him 
that  it  was  to  meet  some  pressing  want  —  such  as 
ferriage  or  hire  of  conveyance.  It  was  reported 
that,  at  times,  he  possessed  the  spirit  of  prophecy, 
and  occasionally  the  discernment  of  spirits.  We 


LORENZO    DOW.  171 

were  daily  looking  for  his  advent;  but  wondered 
how  it  would  be.  One  day  a  stranger  was  seen 
walking  down  the  street  with  hasty  strides  and 
noiseless  tread,  with  a  wonderful  train  of  children 
of  all  colors — at  least,  white,  black,  and  yellow. 
Some  preceded  in  double-quick  time,  and  announced 
with  great  satisfaction — "The  wild  man  is  coming!" 
Indeed,  he  looked  wild  enough.  He  had  a  sailor 
tarpaulin  on  his  head,  a  green  military  coatee,  half- 
worn  and  displumed  of  its  party-colored  ornaments, 
a  pair  of  kneebreeches,  with  straps  and  buckles 
dangling  about,  and  his  shins  "sans  every  thing," 
as  Shakespeare  would  say.  He  carried  a  bundle  of 
handbills,  which  he  distributed  freely;  they  were 
headed  with  large  letters — "HUSH!  and  HARK  ! 
This  afternoon  at  three  o'clock,  LORENZO  Dow  will 
preach  under  the  FEDERAL  OAKS."  He  carried 
besides  a  package  of  tracts.  These  were  sparingly 
delivered.  In  passing  one  man  he  would  suddenly 
stop,  and  look  as  if  he  were  searching  into  the 
inner  chamber  of  his  soul,  and  he  would  hand  him 
a  tract.  He  would  then  pass  by  several  as  if  they 
belonged  to  another  planet.  Sometimes  he  would 
pass  a  store  several  yards,  and  then,  as  if  arrested 
by  a  sudden  impulse,  he  would  wheel  round  and 
throw  in  a  paper  messenger.  Sometimes  he  would 
dart  across  the  street  to  give  a  tract  to  a  man — the 
whole  current  of  little  ones  pouring  after  him  as 
though  they  expected  every  moment  some  grand 
development  of  which  they  were  determined  to  lose 


172  THE    CROSS. 

nothing.  Who  could  blame  them  when  all  the 
doors,  windows,  and.  entries  were  crowded  with 
adult  gazers  as  excited  as  themselves?  Children 
always  take  hold  on  religious  novelties.  In  the 
days  of  our  Savior  they  followed  on  and  cried 
out,  "Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David  that  cometh 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord;  hosanna  in  the  highest!" 
The  Pharisees  here  saw  that  their  cause  was  gone, 
and  they  said  among  themselves,  "Perceive  ye 
how  ye  prevail  nothing?  Behold,  the  world  has 
gone  after  him."  Yes,  the  rising  generation  has 
caught  the  sound.  But  Jesus  said,  "  Have  ye  never 
read,  Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings 
thou  hast  perfected  praise?"  The  triumph  would 
not  have  been  perfect  without  those  juvenile 
praises.  The  Lord  bless  the  children!  as  bad  as 
they  are.  We  have  been  accustomed — I  mean  my 
chief  mate  and  myself — at  every  removal  to  say, 
"Surely,  the  children  of  this  place  are  the  worst 
we  have  ever  seen;"  but  Christ  said,  "Let  them 
alone."  Many  that  paddled  after  Lorenzo  Dow,  at 
last  rolled  "right  side  up;"  and  some  will,  doubt- 
less, walk  the  gold-paved  streets  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem. 

At  the  hour  appointed  nearly  all  the  stores  were 
closed,  and  the  whole  population  was  afloat  —  some 
on  foot,  some  on  horse,  some  in  their  chariots,  and 
some  from  the  country  in  wagons,  and  an  immense 
congregation  was  found  under  the  wide-spread 
branches  of  the  Federal  Oaks.  Presently  the 


LORENZO    DOW.  173 

preacher  appears.  He  looked  round  for  a  con- 
venient stand,  and  seeing  an  old-fashioned  chariot, 
almost  unvarnished  by  the  brush  of  time,  that  had 
a  large  platform  behind  for  a  footman,  and  a  small 
window  in  the  rear,  he  leaped  up,  and  faced  the 
most  of  the  congregation.  Lorenzo  was,  even  then, 
eccentric,  but  seriously  so.  He  had  not  attained  to 
that  humorous  and  laughter-rousing  vein  that 
marked  his  discourses  after  he  believed  that  God 
had  added  more  than  fifteen  years  to  his  probation. 
In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he  spoke  of  family  diffi- 
culties; of  children  who  had  eaten  at  the  same  table, 
slept  in  the  same  bed,  and  had  gone  to  the  same 
school,  yet  in  after-life  engaged  in  lawsuits  with 
each  other;  and  of  some  who  would  even  bring 
lawsuits  against  their  own  mother  who  bore  them. 
He  then  stopped  short,  as  by  a  sudden  surge,  and 
stooping  down,  he  put  his  mouth  to  the  window  of 
the  carriage,  and  said,  "Ah,  old  mammy,  you  know 
what  I  am  talking  about!"  This  startled  the  whole 
congregation.  The  talk  was  applicable  to  her,  and 
her  only.  She  was  the  richest  matron  in  the  town. 
Her  sons  had  been  lawing  with  each  other,  and  one 
had  been  so  unnatural  as  to  sue  his  mother. 

After  he  had  preached,  he  proposed  to  enter  into 
a  covenant  with  the  people.  The  covenant  was, 
that  he  would  pray  daily  for  three  weeks  for  every 
one  who  would  pray  in  like  manner  for  themselves. 
Their  agreement  to  this  was  to  be  manifested  by 
their  shaking  hands  with  him  while  singing  the 


174  THE    CROSS. 

concluding  hymn.  The  congregation  flocked  around 
him  weeping  and  trying  to  sing.  I  felt  almost  as 
if  my  salvation  depended  on  entering  into  said  cov- 
enant. My  father  was  standing  by  me,  and  this 
was  a  great  cross.  But  I  looked  up  in  his  face, 
and  saw  that  he  looked  uncommonly  mellow.  I  felt 
as  if  my  heart  would  burst  outright.  I  reached  up 
my  hand,  but  would  not  let  the  preacher  catch  my 
eye,  for  fear  he  would  tell  all  the  people  what  a 
bad  boy  I  had  been.  As  well  as  my  memory  will 
serve  me,  I  believe  I  kept  my  promise.  Some  days 
I  might  have  forgotten  it,  but  then  on  other  days 
I  would  pray  double;  for  I  was  a  great  believer  in 
the  doctrine  of  commutation.  The  preacher  had 
his  next  appointment  some  miles  in  the  country. 
He  was  trudging  along  on  foot,  when  one  Mr.  E., 
who  had  heard  him  under  the  oaks,  came  along  in 
his  chaise,  and  kindly  gave  him  a  lift  to  his  ap- 
pointment. After  he  had  preached,  Mr.  E.  took 
leave  of  him,  saying  he  had  some  business  to  do, 
but  he  would  see  him  again  at  his  next  appoint- 
ment at  P.  Lorenzo  looked  at  him  sorrowfully, 
and  said,  "No,  I  feel  there  is  a  blow  coming;  where 
it  will  strike  the  Lord  knows — whether  on  you  or 
me — but  I  have  a  strong  impression  we  will  not  see 
each  other  again  in  time."  Mr.  E.  left,  but  had 
not  gone  far  on  his  way,  when  his  horse  took  fright 
and  ran  away;  Mr.  E.  was  flung  out  and  killed. 

Lorenzo  did    not    seem  to  aim    at   prophesying. 
He  told  some  of  the  preachers  who  inquired  of 


LOEENZO     DOW.  175 

him  in  regard  to  this  matter,  that  when  he  first 
started,  sometimes  in  the  midst  of  his  discourse,  an 
idea  altogether  foreign  to  his  arrangement  would  be 
presented,  and  he  would  reject  it.  In  doing  so  he 
would  plunge  into  darkness,  mental  and  spiritual, 
so  that  at  last  he  determined  to  follow  such  impulse, 
and  then  he  had  freedom.  While  we  are  writing 
of  him,  I  will  say  that  many  years  after,  when  I 
was  living  in  New  Orleans,  I  saw  him  again.  When 
I  entered  the  room  where  he  was,  and  before  any 
introduction,  he  said  to  me,  "What  do  you  think 
of  Bonny?" 

"What  Bonny?" 

"Why,  Bonaparte." 

"He  seems  to  be  laying  waste." 

Here  he  began  to  unfold  to  me  the  important 
niche  that  he  occupied  in  the  Apocalypse.  And 
his  mind  seemed  to  be  mostly  occupied  with  Bona- 
parte and  the  prophets,  and  he  seemed  to  forget  the 
vices  of  Napoleon  in  his  victories. 

Several  years  after  I  saw  him  down  in  Ohio,  and 
heard  him  preach  in  my  own  pulpit.  Then  he  dis- 
coursed in  a  funny  way  of  courtship  and  matrimony, 
to  the  great  amusement  of  old  and  young.  Wisdom 
might  be  justified  in  all  these  changes,  and  I  hope 
his  life  of  labor  was  crowned  with  a  triumphant 
end.  Many  were  laid  under  conviction  in  his  ear- 
liest labors,  and  in  many  this  conviction  resulted  in 
bright  conversions.  Not  so  in  my  case.  He  laid 
me  under  contribution  for  some  time,  but  my  seri- 


176  THE    CROSS. 

ousness  passed  away  "like  the  early  cloud."  In 
my  last  voyage  home  as  mate  of  a  brig,  as  already 
observed,  with  a  heavy  charge,  beating  about,  and 
making  and  taking  in  sail  continually,  on  the  coast, 
and  driven  by  a  long  succession  of  snow-storms,  I 
again  became  serious,  and  spent  much  of  the  short 
rest  allowed  me  in  my  state-room,  in  prayer.  On 
this  occasion  I  attained  to  the  condition  which  our 
Discipline  accords  to  a  mourner  or  seeker ;  but  I  was 
without  the  Church.  In  after  years  I  have  felt 
very  thankful  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
"receiveth  sinners,"  penitent  sinners.  In  this  she 
is  most  apostolic.  This  shines  out  in  the  Gospel. 
One  apostle  in  writing  to  the  Church,  addresses 
members  in  various  conditions :  "  babes,  young  men, 
old  men,"  or  sages,  and  this  not  in  reference  to 
their  natural  ages,  but  to  their  attainment.  For 
the  time  is  come  when  the  child  dies  a  hundred 
years  old,  but  the  sinner  dying  a  hundred  years 
old  is  accursed. 

An  inspired  apostle  addresses  some  in  the  Church 
who  were  still  carnal  to  a  considerable  extent. 
Again  there  were  some  who  had  been  religious,  but 
were  fallen  from  grace.  "  Ye  are  fallen  from  grace." 
Our  Savior  in  his  message  to  the  angel  of  the  Church 
of  Ephesus  says,  "Thou  hast  left  thy  first  love." 
Does  he  excommunicate?  No,  but  says,  "Kepent 
and  do  thy  first  works,  or  else  I  will  come  unto 
thee  quickly  and  remove  thy  candlestick  out  of  his 
place,  except  thou  repent."  He  bore  "  with  him  for 


RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE.  177 

a  season."  And  why?  Because  if  backsliders  can 
not  be  reclaimed  in  the  Church,  with  all  her  means 
of  grace,  they  may  be  irrecoverably  lost  when  cast 
out.  The  whole  world  has  no  remedy  for  the  lost. 
We  regard  the  Church  of  Christ  as  a  divinely-in- 
stituted hospital,  a  blessed  asylum  for  all  who  are 
oppressed  of  the  devil.  But  while  it  is  a  hospital, 
and  strains  every  means  for  a  recovery,  when  pa- 
tients become  incurable,  she  casts  them  out — "ex- 
cept they  repent"  In  these  gracious  times  of  re- 
freshing which  come  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 
-we  have  seen  those  who  have  been  in  the  Church 
seeking  salvation  for  one,  two,  sometimes  three 
years,  brightly  converted.  During  their  probation, 
their  membership  has  shielded  them  from  outbreak- 
ing sins,  and  when  they  see  the  bush  all  divinely 
fired,  they  begin  to  cast  their  shoes  from  off  their 
feet,  and  cry  in  mighty  anguish,  "Speak,  Lord,  for 
thy  servant  heareth." 

We  have  seen,  with  pain,  our  ministers,  in  some 
sections,  insisting  on  unquestionable  regeneration,  as  a 
term  of  Church  membership.*  If  this  should  become 
general,  it  would  destroy  one  of  our  distinct  features 
as  a  Church,  and  would  work  ruinously.  Moreover, 
it  would  hurt  our  Church  only.  The  Calvinistic 
Churches  receive  those  who  are  evangelically  con- 
victed, and  who  truly  repent ;  because  they  sincerely 

*  It  seems  to  us  that,  as  a  condition  of  full  membership  in  the 
Church,  it  is  not  too  much  to  require  that  the  candidate  shall  be  a 
new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus. — ED. 


178  THE    CROSS. 

believe  that  regeneration  is  before  repentance;  and 
that  when  the  Holy  Spirit  truly  convicts,  He  will 
carry  on  the  work  to  full  redemption.  They  call 
true  penitents  "babes  in  Christ,"  but  although  babes, 
they  have  the  promise  of  a  full  growth.  We  do 
not  stop  to  contend  whether  they  or  we  are  right 
in  doctrine.  We  are  both  right  in  receiving  such 
characters  into  the  Church.  But  if  we  go  to  receive 
only  regenerated  persons,  according  to  our  standard 
of  regeneration,  we  will  turn  away  many  who  in 
future  years  would  be  an  ornament  to  our  Church. 
We  are  well  persuaded,  if  the  question  could  be  put- 
to  our  whole  Church,  it  would  be  found  that  a 
majority  of  our  members  experienced  religion  in 
the  Church.  But  unfortunately  for  myself,  I  did 
not  join  the  Church  on  my  return;  but  having 
received  full  wages  as  an  officer,  I  strutted  about  in 
a  suit  of  "long  togs,"  which  I  had  purchased  in 
L.ondon,  and  neglected  the  high  concerns  of  my 
soul.  This  will  appear  by  my  seeking  a  place  in  a 
privateer.  I  feel  thankful  to  this  day  that  I  was 
led  to  the  war;  because  it  was  a  higher  principle 
that  urged  me  on ;  and  in  comparison  with  the  float- 
ing hell  from  which  I  escaped,  war  itself  was  a 
minister  of  grace.  It  did  not,  however,  add  one 
cubit  to  my  moral  stature. 

When  I  returned  from  the  war,  the  whole  world 
looked  gloomy  and  sad.  I  was  sensible  that  the 
beauties  of  nature  were  in  no  way  impaired,  and 
that  the  wrong  was  in  myself.  I  determined  to 


EELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE.  179 

seek  a  higher  life.  With  this  in  view,  I  retired,  at 
stated  periods,  into  a  garret,  and  prayed  and  medi- 
tated, and  became  very  serious. 


180  THE  CROSS. 


XIII. 

CAMP  MEETINQ— DAWNING  OF  LIQHT. 

ONE  day  my  mother  told  me  that  she  and  some 
Methodist  ladies  were  very  anxious  to  go  to  a 
camp  meeting  that  was  to  be  held  soon;  but  they 
could  not  go  without  some  male  person  to  assist 
them.  I  had  never  been  to  a  camp  meeting,  and 
cheerfully  consented  to  take  the  supervision  of 
things.  I  intended  not  to  remit  my  private  relig- 
ious exercises.  On  the  day  appointed,  we  started  in 
the  wagon,  with  our  tent  and  baggage.  When  we 
drew  nigh  to  the  encampment,  and  made  a  sudden 
turn  in  the  way,  a  large  portion  of  the  camp  broke 
upon  our  vision.  The  tents  were  made  mostly  of 
the  old  bleached  sails  of  sloops  and  schooners,  and 
sheets  and  coverlets,  and  contrasted  beautifully  with 
the  dark-green  pine  forest  in  which  they  were 
pitched.  "When  this  scene  suddenly  broke  upon  us, 
this  idea  flashed  upon  my  mind,  "How  goodly  are 
thy  tents,  0  Jacob!  and  thy  tabernacles,  0  Israel! 
Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my 
last  end  be  like  his."  This  almost  overwhelmed  me. 
After  we  had  established  ourselves,  I  walked  about 
the  encampment,  attended  on  the  services,  and  did 
not  forget  my  own  religious  arrangements. 


CAMP    MEETING.  181 

One  dark,  rainy  night,  our  young  stationed 
preacher  held  a  prayer  meeting  in  a  tent,  and  after 
exhorting  invited  those  who  were  seeking  religion 
to  kneel  at  some  chairs  that  were  set  out.  I  went 
with  the  rest.  Straw  was  strewed  over  the  floor, 
and  although  the  tent  did  not  leak  much,  yet  the 
water,  unperceived,  had  run  under  it,  so  that  when 
we  kneeled  our  knees  plunged  down  in  the  straw 
and  mud,  and  before  midnight  it  became  somewhat 
of  an  annoyance;  but  still  I  thought  I  gave  myself 
up,  altogether,  to  God,  for  time  and  eternity.  Still 
the  meeting  broke  without  affording  any  comfort. 
The  next  day  brought  no  relief.  In  the  afternoon, 
while  lying  alone  in  our  tent,  bemoaning  my  state, 
with  tears  in  my  eyes,  a  beautiful  girl,  about  twelve 
or  thirteen,  a  daughter  of  one  of  our  Methodist 
neighbors,  came  in,  and  scornfully  turning  up  her 
nose,  said,  "Ar'n't  you  ashamed,  seeking  religion? 
If  you  do  n't  quit  this,  I  will  never  have  you  in  the 
world,"  and  with  indignation  burning  on  her  cheeks, 
she  left.  This  was  the  first  that  I  knew  that  such 
a  thought  had  ever  mingled  with  the  whimseys  of 
the  little  innocent.  This  was  a  personification  of 
the  gay  world — the  scorn  and  contempt  that  awaited 
me.  Still  I  thought,  if  I  can  only  have  salvation,  I 
can  surely  afford  that  loss.  \ 

The  next  morning,  feeling  ^old  and  somewhat  in- 
disposed, I  saw  Charles,  a  mulatto  that  my  father 
had  raised,  and  who  was  now  a\hackman.  He  was 
much  attached  to  me,  for  I  had  taught  him  to  read. 


182  THE    CROSS. 

He  beckoned  me  to  his  hack,  and  said  in  a  confiding 
whisper,  "I  have  brought  a  little  spirit  along  with 
me,  and  I  think  a  little  dram  might  do  you  some 
good."  Well,  I  truly  believed  with  Charles  that  it 
would  do  me  good,  physically.  I  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  meeting  with  other  young  men,  when  we 
would  go  to  market  for  our  mothers,  in  the  dram- 
shop of  a  widow,  where  we  would  treat  each  other, 
and  we  did  not  apprehend  any  danger;  but  I  had 
found  out,  before  the  camp  meeting,  that  I  had  got 
so  as  to  have  no  appetite  for  my  breakfast  till  I 
had  taken  my  mint  sling;  and  I  had  abandoned  the 
practice.  It  seemed  to  me  that  it  would  amount  to 
a  serious  sin  to  take  a  dram  in  my  present  state. 
I  refused,  and  opened  my  mind  freely  to  Charles. 
It  was  not  long  before  he  got  to  see  things  in  the 
same  light,  and  became  a  pious  Baptist  minister, 
and  finally  a  citizen  of  Liberia.  I  mention  these 
small  things  to  show  to  what  mean  shifts  the  enemy 
will  resort,  through  his  various  agencies,  to  turn 
aside  one  who  is  learning  to  do  right.  I  wandered 
about  the  camp,  and  was  almost  driven  to  infidelity. 
The  argument  in  my  mind  was,  the  Lord  has  said, 
"Whosoever  cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out."  But  you  have  come  to  the  Lord — come  sin- 
cerely, as  your  own  heart  tells  you,  but  he  has  not 
received  you.  Where  is  the  promise  of  the  Lord? 
Then  this  came  to  my  mind — others  have  come, 
have  found  mercy,  and  are  now  rejoicing;  therefore, 
there  must  be  something  wrong  in  your  case.  Be- 


CAMP    MEETING.  183 

sides,  it  does  not  become  a  mortal  sinner,  who  lias 
been  so  often  called,  and  who  has  so  often  rejected 
the  calls  of  God,  to  expect  him  to  come  promptly 
at  your  call.  If  you  should  call  all  your  life  long, 
and  the  Lord  should  then  save  you,  what  a  great 
mercy  it  would  be!  This  thought  struck  me  with 
great  force,  and  seemed  highly  reasonable.  Then  I 
said,  I  will  still  pray,  and  avoid  all  sin,  as  I  have 
been  striving  to  do,  and  if  mercy  comes  at  last  my 
fortune  will  be  made  for  all  eternity. 

In  this  frame  we  got  into  the  wagon  to  return 
home.  After  we  had  proceeded  several  miles,  while 
some  of  the  sisters  were  singing  one  of  the  songs  of 
Zion,  strange  and  supernatural  fire  seemed  to  glow 
within  my  breast;  new  views,  new  motives,  new 
purposes  arose  within  me.  I  requested  the  wagon- 
er to  stop  his  team  awhile.  I  got  down,  walked 
ahead,  and  sometimes  felt  like  leaping  for  joy.  My 
sorrow  was  gone,  and  sweet  tranquillity  reigned 
within.  But  still  I  did  not  take  this  for  conver- 
sion; I  was  looking  for  something  more  miraculous, 
not  considering  how  great  a  miracle  it  was  for 
peace  to  take  possession  of  a  sinner's  soul.  My  tes- 
timony was  very  fluctuating.  When  a  religious 
friend  would  meet  me,  and  express  the  joy  he  felt 
on  hearing  of  my  conversion,  if  I  was  in  a  happy 
frame,  I  would  say,  yes,  I  believe  I  have  been  con- 
verted. If  another  would  question  me,  while  dif- 
ferently exercised,  I  would  say,  I  feel  there  has 
been  some  change,  but  I  hardly  know  whether  it  is 


184  THE    CROSS. 

conversion.     I  have  since  believed  it  was  justifica- 
tion without  a  clear  evidence. 

It  was  not  very  long  after  this  that  I  received 
two  bright  manifestations  of  the  mercy  of  God,  as  I 
believe.  The  first  was  while  I  was  meditating  on 
Christ  as  a  babe  in  the  manger.  All  at  once  I  was 
overwhelmed  with  a  most  unearthly  transport 
of  joy  and  peace.  The  second  was  just  as  I  had 
prayed,  laid  aside  my  dress,  and  was  laying  my 
head  upon  my  pillow.  It  seemed  as  if  a  flock 
of  happy  and  invisible  spirits  were  all  around 
me  and  over  me.  I  was  as  sensible  of  their  pres- 
ence as  if  I  had  seen  them  with  my  eyes,  or 
touched  them  with  my  hands,  and  this  was  accom- 
panied with  a  bliss  that  was  all  celestial.  Then 
this  came  to  my  mind  with  a  definition  and  clear- 
ness that  I  had  never  felt  before,  and  may  add,  have 
never  fully  realized  since — "A  joy  unspeakable  and 
full  of  glory"  And  I  said,  "Lord,  what  is  this?" 
And  there  came  a  voice  to  my  soul — bear  with  me, 
reader — a  voice  that  did  not  traverse  my  auditory 
nerve,  and  which  my  ear  had  nothing  to  do  with — 
a  voice  as  clear  and  as  distinct  to  my  soul  as  that 
of  earthly  sound  to  my  ear — "The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord,  bearing  witness  with  your  spirit,  that  you 
are  a  child  of  God."  Some  will  say,  "enthusiasm!" 
Well,  if  it  ia  found  so  at  the  last,  it  has  ever  been 
my  safeguard  from  disbelief  in  the  spiritual  world. 
It  has  established  in  me  the  doctrine  —  not  inde- 
pendent of  the  Scriptures — that  the  soul  possesses 


CAMP    MEETING.  185 

senses  of  itself,  to  which  our  outward  senses  are 
only  mediums  —  mediums  between  the  outward 
world  and  the  inner  man.  But  God,  who  is  a  pure 
and  unmixed  spirit,  can  operate  on  our  inward 
senses,  independently  of  our  bodily  organs. 

At  this  time  I  did  not  know  that  others  had 
been  so  exercised;  but  I  soon  found,  by  reading 
and  hearing  the  experience  of  the  pious,  that  the 
Lord  has  manifested  himself  to  others  in  similar 
ways.  Some  have  had  a  representation  of  Christ  to 
their  spiritual  sight,  as  Colonel  Gardner;  some  to 
their  hearing;  and  the  Lord  reveals  himself  to  all 
Christians  through  their  spiritual  feeling.  We  feel, 
not  physically,  but  spiritually,  the  Spirit  of  God 
bearing  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  born  of 
God.  We  do  not  believe  that  these  extra  manifest- 
ations exalt  those  who  receive  them,  in  point  of 
Christian  distinction,  above  the  youngest  child  of 
grace-;  nor  do  we  believe  that  it  adds  any  force  to 
their  justification.  I  believe  I  was  as  much  ac- 
cepted when  I  first  felt  the  free  grace  of  God,  in 
the  camp  meeting  wagon,  homeward  bound,  as  I 
was  under  these  extra  manifestations.  I  give  them 
as  circumstances  in  my  experience.  I  had  united 
myself  with  the  Church  by  giving  my  hand  to  the 
venerable  John  Potts,  in  the  absence  of  the  preacher 
in  charge.  There  were,  now,  only  three  young  men 
in  the  Church  in  P. — Louis  Lasart,  Henry  Tatum, 
A.  M.  Lorrain.  We  concluded  that  we  might  gain 

much  by  forming  ourselves  into  a  band.     We  met 

16 


186  THE    CROSS. 

first  on  one  Sunday  morning,  in  the  meeting-house. 
Louis  was  a  Frenchman,  but  could  talk  tolerable 
English.  He  had  been  raised  a  Roman  Catholic, 
and  understood  something  about  confession  before 
he  was  converted.  And  he  understood,  from  our 
Discipline,  that,  to  be  faithful  to  the  band,  we  must 
turn  our  hearts  wrong  side  out.  He  began  to  tell 
his  experience,  and  presently  came  to  a  place  where 
he  received  a  backset,  while  courting  a  young  lady. 
He  must  needs  enter  upon  this  narrative;  and  he 
did  it  with  so  much  sincerity  and  earnestness — the 
tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks — while  he  entered 
into  particulars,  laboring  on  in  his  broken  English, 
that  Tatum  and  myself  began  to  shake  like  aspen- 
leaves.  We  found  this  would  not  do;  and  I  told 
them  I  thought  we  would  do  better  in  the  classes 
among  the  old  folks.  Ever  since  this  I  have  been 
opposed  to  young  men's  prayer  meetings,  or  young 
ladies'  meetings.  Old  Christians,  when  they  get 
right  happy,  are  simple  and  childish  enough  for 
any  thing. 

I  now  lived  a  life  of  faith.  My  peace  was  like  a 
river.  I  had  full  confidence  in  the  Church,  and 
esteemed  all  the  brethren  better  than  myself.  I 
looked  upon  the  female  members  as  sisters  in  all 
purity;  I  can  not  express  the  celestial  chastity  with 
which  I  regarded  them — so  diverse  from  all  I  had 
experienced  before.  Here  let  me  ask,  has  any  soul 
ever  walked  in  the  light  and  power  of  their  first 
love  for  forty  or  fifty  years  without  wavering?  I 


CAMP    MEETING.  187 

do  not  ask  if  it  can  be  done.  The  Bible,  to  me,,  is 
clear  on  this  point:  "The  path  of  the  just  is  as 
the  shining  light,  that  shineth  more  and  more  unto 
the  perfect  day."  This  is  God's  provision,  but  who 
realizes  it?  Well  may  we  say,  "What  troubles 
have  we  seen,  what  trials  have  we  passed!"  The 
preacher,  having  prepared  to  attend  Conference, 
proposed  for  me  to  lead  his  class  in  the  middle  of 
the  week.  From  this  I  shrunk  back  dismayed.  But 
he  urged  it  so  vehemently  that  I  got  alarmed  at 
my  own  obstinacy,  and  finally  consented.  As  the 
day  advanced,  the  cross  loomed  up  heavier  and 
heavier.  I  made  it  a  matter  of  prayer,  telling  the 
Lord  that  he  knew  I  was  not  sufficient  for  that 
work,  and  that  I  hoped  no  one  would  come.  At 
the  appointed  time  I  attended,  and  found  the  sex- 
ton brushing  the  benches.  We  waited  there  a  long 
time,  and,  although  it  was  a  beautiful  day,  not  one 
member  came.  This  filled  me  with  gratitude;  for  I 
verily  believed  my  prayer  was  heard — and  I  think 
so  still.  Many  a  colt  has  been  spoiled  by  prema- 
ture harnessing. 


188  THE    CROSS. 


XIV. 

NEW   ORLEANS-FIRST   SERMON. 

I  HAD  now  to  look  around  for  something  to  do. 
I  had  been  in  a  great  measure  weaned  from  the 
sea,  and  determined  to  abandon  it.  No  business 
presented  itself  where  I  was.  My  oldest  brother, 
who  was  a  counselor  at  law,  in  New  Orleans,  invited 
me  to  come  there;  and  I  concluded  to  go.  Brother 
Potts,  who  received  me  into  the  Church,  told  my 
mother  he  was  sorry  I  had  made  that  decision. 
He  did  not  see  how  a  young  Christian  could  stand 
the  seductions  of  New  Orleans.  He  wished  I  could 
continue  on  the  sea.  He  thought  that  the  power 
of  God,  as  displayed  on  the  great  deep,  was  calcu- 
lated to  cherish  religious  emotions  in  a  soul  already 
under  the  influence  of  Divine  grace.  His  views 
influenced  me  considerably;  so  that,  while  on  my 
way  to  Norfolk  to  embark  for  New  Orleans,  I  be- 
came undecided  and  distressed.  As  soon  as  I 
arrived  at  the  hotel,  some  of  my  young  sea-friends 
crowded  around,  and  one  said  in  a  loud  voice, 
"  Why,  L.,  we  have  heard  that  you  have  been  con- 
verted, and  have  joined  the  Methodists;  is  it  so?" 
I  answered  in  a  dignified  tone,  but  as  loud,  "What 
you  have  heard  is  certainly  true." 


NEW   ORLEANS  —  FIRST    SERMON.        189 

"Well,  that  is  curious,  for  a  sailor  to  join  the 
Methodists!" 

This  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  "show  cause;" 
and  in  a  little  while  they  began  to  slip  away.  The 
gentlemen  around  looked  at  me  as  a  curiosity, 
smiling — some,  as  I  thought,  with  scorn — some, 
with  approbation.  I  was  still  undecided  in  my 
course.  I  attended  the  Methodist  Church  in  the 
evening.  The  introductory  hymn  was, 

"God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 
His  wonders  to  perform." 

As  they  were  singing, 

"  Ye  fearful  souls,  fresh  courage  take, 

The  clouds  ye  so  much  dread 
Are  big  with  mercy,  and  shall  break 
In  blessings  on  your  head," 

light,  joy,  and  comfort  came  down,  and  my  pathway 
to  New  Orleans  shone  bright.  An  intelligent  and 
genteel  young  man,  who  belonged  to  the  same  vol- 
unteer company  that  I  did  during  the  war,  took 
passage  with  me.  I  soon  made  known  to  him  my 
views  and  determinations;  and  although  we  some- 
times disputed  on  doctrine,  yet  he  always  treated 
me  with  great  respect  and  consideration;  and,  as 
we  had  the  cabin  to  ourselves,  we  had  an  agreeable 
voyage.  When  we  arrived  at  the  city,  and  looked 
around,  it  seemed  to  be  given  up,  to  a  great  extent, 
to  idolatry.  The  holy  Sabbath  was  generally  un- 
heeded, or  made  a  day  of  merriment;  and,  so  far 
from  being  drawn  into  the  vortex,  my  soul  shrunk 


190  THE    CROSS. 

back  from  the  gulf  of  immorality.  I  first  got  a 
place  under  my  brother,  who  had  been  appointed 
naval-officer  of  the  port.  As  he  still  attended  to 
his  law  business,  he  made  me  his  deputy  in  the 
revenue  business,  and  the  principal  weight  of  that 
concern  rested  upon  me.  This  at  once  brought  me 
into  business  acquaintance  with  the  merchants — 
French  and  English — of  that  city;  and  happily,  as 
I  thought,  this  was  mostly  the  principal  social  con- 
nection of  that  people.  It  was  often  said  by  strang- 
ers, that,  when  they  would  inquire  of  a  man  if  his 
partner  was  a  married  man,  he  could  not  tell. 
After  the  business  of  the  day  was  over,  I  would 
retire  to  my  room,  where  I  could  read,  meditate, 
and  pray,  and  enjoy  the  company  of  a  very  amiable 
family  that  boarded  me. 

About  this  time  Clarke's  Notes  were  published  in 
pamphlet  form,  and  I  became  a  subscriber.  It  was 
a  great  advantage  that  it  came  out  periodically,  so 
that  I  could  study  each  number  in  course.  But  I 
longed  for  the  preaching  of  the  "Word.  When  I 
saw  my  friends  buying  tickets  for  the  theater  once 
or  twice  in  the  week,  I  felt  how  glad  I  would  be 
to  hear  sermons  at  the  same  price!  We  were  not 
entirely  destitute  of  preaching;  there  was  a  gentle- 
man of  learning,  who  had  been  employed  by  some 
to  preach  on  the  Sabbath,  or  rather  to  read.  But 
he  was  not  regarded  as  an  experimental  Christian. 
One  Sunday  in  reading  the  morning  service  he 
came  nigh  tilting  over  two  or  three  times.  This 


NEW    ORLEANS  —  FIRST    SERMON.        191 

startled  the  congregation.  But  when  he  ascended 
the  pulpit  and  spread  out  his  manuscript,  he  began 
to  read;  but  after  a  while  he  looked  very  quizzi- 
cally at  his  writing,  and  began  to  talk  nonsense. 
The  people,  who. seemed  to  have  some  idea  about 
ministerial  decorum,  poured  out  of  the  house  in  a 
stream.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  investigate 
the  affair.  They  reported  that  the  parson  was  not 
intoxicated,  as  some  had  supposed,  but  had  always 
been  in  the  habit  of  taking  a  little  opium  to  im- 
prove his  elocution ;  but  as  he  had  a  particular  sub- 
ject on  hand,  he  had  that  morning  taken  an  over- 
dose. A  sea  captain  who  was  present,  exclaimed, 
"Worse  and  worse!  we  thought  he  had  got  drunk 
on  brandy  or  wine,  like  a  Christian;  but  it  seems 
he  got  drunk  on  opium,  like  a  Turk !"  We,  how- 
ever, attended  his  ministry  to  set  an  example  of 
Church-going.  One  evening  as  I  was  going  to  my 
lodging,  I  heard  in  the  upper  faubourg  a  Methodist 
tune.  It  thrilled  through  my  soul  and  body.  And 
although  it  was  raining  and  the  roads  muddy,  I 
was  determined  to  find  it  out.  The  sound  brought 
me  to  an  old  cabin.  There  was  hardly  a  whole 
pane  in  the  windows;  it  was  filled  with  Africans, 
and  a  colored  man  who  had  come  down  in  a  flat- 
boat  was  telling  the  simple  story  of  the  Cross.  His 
congregation  rolled  their  eyes  as  if  a  new  dispensa- 
tion had  opened  upon  them.  I  stood  at  the  window 
in  the  rain;  and  while  the  preacher  was  happy 
within,  my  soul  was  happy  without.  Surely  that 


192  THE    CROSS. 

was  one  of  the  richest  evenings  I  had  in  the 
South.  Brethren  who  smile  at  this,  may  have 
never  known  what  it  is  to  feel  a  famine  of  the 
Word  of  God. 

I  had  been  two  or  three  months  in  Orleans,  be- 
fore I  discovered  a  Methodist  in  the  place.  It  was 
announced  one  Sunday  that  a  Baptist  missionary 
would  preach  in  the  afternoon.  He  seemed  to  be 
a  plain,  pious  man,  but  only  a  slender  preacher. 
After  dismissal  I  spoke  to  him,  and  he  invited  me 
to  take  tea  with  him.  The  gentleman  with  whom 
he  stopped  earnestly  backed  the  invitation,  and  it 
was  accepted.  In  the  course  of  the  evening  it  ap- 
peared that  this  gentleman  was  also  a  Baptist.  I 
was  acquainted  with  him  in  business  transactions, 
but  did  not  know  that  he  was  a  professor  of  religion. 
He  informed  me  that  he  knew  two  very  worthy 
Methodists  in  the  city,  and  directed  me  where  to 
find  them.  I  lost  no  time  in  hunting  them  up. 
These  were  old  brother  Nabb  and  his  wife.  Brother 
Nabb  and  myself  had  often  passed  and  repassed 
each  other,  with  mutual  suspicious  glances,  but 
neither  had  courage  to  challenge.  He  was  a  plain 
German,  had  been  there  fourteen  years  before  me, 
and  had  been  twice  put  in  the  calaboose  for  exhort- 
ing the  negroes  on  the  levee  to  turn  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  By  the  means  of  this  couple  I  found  out 
another  Methodist.  Now  we  began  to  muster  our 
forces.  There  were  four  Methodists,  three  or  four 
Baptists,  and  a  few  Presbyterians.  We  agreed  to 


NEW    ORLEANS  —  FIEST    SERMON.        193 

establish  a  prayer  meeting  on  one  night  in  the 
week,  and  to  labor  to  gather  up  any  religious  per- 
sons who  might  visit  the  city  from  time  to  time. 
This  prayer  meeting  was  very  singular,  wavering 
with  the  seasons  and  commerce.  Sometimes  the 
large  room  was  nearly  filled ;  at  other  times  we 
were  reduced  to  our  original  number.  Presently 
we  had  an  addition  to  the  Methodists  —  brother 
Hyde,  of  New  York,  and  Captain  Pray,  of  Brook- 
lyn, and  their  families.  We  now  made  a  class,  and 
appointed  Captain  Pray  leader.  And  the  brethren 
of  other  Churches  attended;  for,  in  the  absence  of 
all  preachers,  we  were  firmly  united. 

After  a  while  brother  Pray  said,  "Brother  L., 
I  have  been  deeply  exercised  about  our  condition 
here.  We  are  in  no  Conference,  no  district,  no  cir- 
cuit; indeed,  we  are  without  the  jurisdiction  of 
Methodism.  We  have  called  for  help,  and  have 
received  none.  It  has  lately  struck  me  that  the 
Lord  has  placed  some  recourse  within  ourselves. 
There  is  surely  some  one  among  us  who  ought  to 
feed  these  poor  sheep." 

To  this  I  readily  assented,  and  urged  him  to  take 
this  matter  in  hand,  as  I  knew,  from  his  manner  in 
leading  the  class,  that  he  would  be  acceptable. 
This,  he  said,  was  not  what  he  was  aiming  at  by 
any  means;  but  in  looking  over  the  society,  he  con- 
cluded I  was  the  man.  I  told  him  he  was  certainly 
mistaken,  as  I  was  not  sufficient  for  that  thing. 

He,  however,  renewed  this  kind  of  talk  from  time 

17 


194  THE    CROSS. 

to  time,  till  one  Sunday  morning,  when  the  class 
was  met,  and  our  friends  of  other  Churches  were 
present,  he  took  me  out  into  the  back  porch,  and 
said  he  would  decide  my  case  on  the  answer  of  a 
single  question:  "Knowing  you  to  be  a  man  of 
truth,  answer  me  before  God  if  you  have  had  no 
impressions  on  your  mind  that  it  is  your  duty  to 
preach?"  Here  he  drove  me  into  a  corner.  I  ac- 
knowledged that  this  was  the  case,  but  argued  that 
the  American  population  of  that  city  was  uncom- 
monly intelligent,  considering  their  number;  and  I 
had  thought,  if  my  impression  was  Divine,  that  the 
providence  of  God  would  open  a  way  to  some  people 
who  might  be  benefited  by  my  talents,  poor  as  they 
were.  Now  he  became  urgent  for  me  to  go  into 
the  class-room,  and  preach  a  short  sermon.  Sup- 
posing that,  after  hearing  me,  he  would  be  better 
satisfied  with  letting  me  alone,  I  promised  on  con- 
dition of  his  taking  it  up  in  case  of  failure.  So, 
after  getting  my  mind  somewhat  composed,  I  took 
the  Book  and  gave  out  as  a  text,  "What  I  say 
unto  you,  I  say  unto  all,  watch."  I  spoke  about 
thirty  minutes,  and  then  slunk  back  into  my  seat, 
supposing  he  would  stop  all  leaks,  and  clap  on  a 
few  backstays  or  bobstays;  but  he  rose  up,  and 
very  coolly  observed,  "  Next  Sunday  evening, 
brother  L.  will  preach  in  my  large  upper 
room."  I  expostulated  with  him,  after  meeting, 
but  he  said,  "It's  all  right."  I  told  him,  as  the 
appointment  was  out,  I  would  try  to  meet  it,  but 


NEW    ORLEANS  —  FIRST    SERMON.        195 

he  really  must  not  rush  me  on  in  that  way.  Our 
people  told  all  their  acquaintances,  and  next  Sun- 
day evening  there  was  a  large  congregation.  We 
had  hardly  closed  before  "Next  Sunday  evening" 
was  again  heard.  And  so  it  went  on  till  the  house 
became  crowded.  But  now  we  received  the  joyful 
intelligence  that  a  Methodist  missionary,  for  New 
Orleans,  had  left  Baltimore.  Our  little  society  was 
glad,  but  none  so  glad  as  myself.  He  got  there 
late  one  Saturday  afternoon.  On  Sunday  even- 
ing our  usual  place  of  worship  was  crowded.  I 
held  back  till  late,  and  then  slipped  into  the  back 
of  the  congregation,  where  I  might  hear  with- 
out let  or  hinderance.  The  missionary  was  at  the 
stand,  frequently  looking  at  his  watch.  At  last  he 
stretched  forward  his  head,  and  said,  "Is  brother 
L.  in  the  congregation?"  "Yes,"  said  one,  "here 
he  is,  back  here."  "I  wish  to  see  him."  Sup- 
posing he  only  wanted  me  to  close  the  service,  I 
walked  forward. 

"Brother,  it  is  high  time  to  begin." 
"I  think  it  is." 

"Well,  you  had  better  go  at  it." 
This  astonished  me,  and  I  very  decidedly  de- 
clined, telling  him  that  the  whole  congregation  was 
expecting  to  hear  him;  that  they  had  been  for 
years  without  any  regular  ministry,  and  it  would 
be  a  great  disappointment  if  he  did  not  preach. 

"  Well,  if  you  do  n't  intend  to  preach,  get  up  and 
tell  them  so,  and  dismiss  them,  or  I  will  do  it  for 


196       .  •  THE    CROPS. 

you.     It  is  your  appointment,  and  I  assure  you  I 
shall  not  preach  this  night." 

I  reflected  a  moment,  and  saw  clearly  that  such 
a  course  would  greatly  injure  him  at  the  commence- 
ment. And  I  preached,  but  fully  resolved  that  no 
more  such  pranks  should  be  played  with  me,  and 
that  my  sermons  should  be  few  and  far  between  dur- 
ing his  administrations.  Happy  was  I  in  the  con- 
sideration that  I  had  no  more  appointments  out. 
But  I  knew  not  my  man. 


DIVEES    LABORS.  197 


XV. 

LAND-OFFICE  RECEIVER-DIVERS 
LABORS. 

BROTHER  Mark  Moore  was  considerably  advanced 
in  years.  He  was  a  classical  man,  deeply  pious, 
generally  a  good  preacher,  and  sometimes  overwhelm- 
ing. He  was,  however,  subject  to  a  very  troublous 
disease — the  hypo.  He  did  not  at  all  recognize  it, 
but  in  all  good  conscience  pronounced  it  sickness. 
He  held  a  theory  that  the  earthquake,  like  the 
comet,  had  its  appointed  race;  that  in  former  ages 
it  trampled  furiously  across  our  continent,  as  may 
be  seen  by  the  deep  dells,  precipices,  and  scattered 
rocks  that  abound  in  our  country;  that  it  was  now 
playing  its  game  beyond  seas,  but  would  very  soon 
visit  this  part  of  its  orbit  again.  Then  he  would 
start,  look  wildly,  woe-begone,  and  say,  "  Brother 
L.,  do  you  feel  that?" 

"What?" 

"Why,  the  trembling  of  the  earth.  I  feel  it 
every  few  days,  and  just  now  distinctly.  I  am  sur- 
prised that  you  can  not  feel  such  a  sensible  move." 

"Brother  Moore,  you  are  certainly  mistaken;  the 
earth  never  was  more  solid." 

"It  is  you  who  are  mistaken.     I  have  a  peculiar 


198  THE    CROSS. 

discernment  of  earthquakes."  "When  he  was  in  this 
mood  all  was  over  with  him;  he  was  sick,  and  man 
Friday  had  to  stand  up. 

Our  little  society  now  began  to  stir.  A  gentle- 
man who  was  friendly  to  our  Church,  and  whose 
wife  was  a  Methodist,  offered  us  the  upper  part  of 
a  large  tobacco  warehouse,  on  condition  of  our  fit- 
ting it  up,  as  a  preaching-place,  with  the  privilege 
of  our  removing  our  improvements,  if  the  property 
had  to  pass  from  his  hands.  The  room  was  100 
by  80.  We  purchased  heavy  cotton,  and  nailed 
it  to  the  posts  that  supported  the  rafters  on  both 
sides,  put  up  a  pulpit  draped  in  baize,  and  then  put 
up  stairs,  outside  of  the  building,  by  which  our  con- 
gregation might  ascend.  The  returned  captives 
were  not  more  pestered  in  putting  up  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem  than  we  were.  Some  said  one  thing, 
and  some  said  another;  but  the  majority  thought 
it  was  an  immense  object.  No  respectable  person 
would  attend,  and  what  lady  would  climb  up  the 
steep,  open  stairway.  All  we  could  say  was,  "Not 
many  great,  not  many  noble,  not  many  mighty  are 
called."  But  when  worship  was  opened,  they  came 
crowding  from  north,  south,  east,  and  west.  The 
ladies  tripped  up  stairs  right  gracefully;  for  there 
were  no  hoops  worn  in  that  day.  Mr.  M — n,  bless 
you,  the  king  merchant  of  New  Orleans,  came  bust- 
ling up  with  all  his  family,  and  looked  right  glad 
to  get  a  seat ;  and  brother  Moore  laid  the  vast  con- 
gregation under  contribution  of  tears.  I  should 


DIVERS     LABORS.  199 

not  have  blamed  him  if  he  had  felt  the  earth  quake 
that  day.  I  had  not  been  long  in  New  Orleans, 
when  the  commission  of  "Receiver  of  public  mon- 
eys for  lands  of  the  United  States  in  the  Eastern 
District  of  Louisiana"  was  sent  me  by  Mr.  Madison. 
I  had  to  get  security  to  the  amount  of  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars. 

"Now,"  said  my  brother,  "where  will  you  get 
that?" 

"  I  am  acquainted  with  a  Baptist  gentleman  who 
is  very  wealthy,  and  professes  strong  friendship  for 
me." 

"If  that  is  all  your  dependence,  I  am  sorry  for 
you;  but  go  and  try." 

I  called  on  my  friend,  and  told  him  I  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  Land- Office. 

"0,  how  glad  I  am!  you  will  now  be  perma- 
nently fixed  among  us." 

"Yes,  but  I  have  to  give  security  in  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars;  and  I  have  called  to  see  if  you  could 
accommodate  me.  It  is  only  a  nominal  thing,  the 
security,  as  the  lands  in  this  district  will  not  be 
sold  for  many  years,  and  we  will  only  receive  our 
regular  salary." 

Here  his  countenance  fell,  and  he  said  he  could 
not  go  my  security  in  whole  or  in  part. 

"  But  if  I  do  not  get  this  security,  brother,  I  will 
lose  this  fine  office." 

"I  shall  be  very  sorry  indeed  for  that,  but  I  can 
not  accommodate  you." 


200  THE     CROSS. 

When  I  returned,  my  brother  laughed  heartily 
at  me.  "Now,"  said  he,  "I  will  go  out  and  try 
my  luck.  It  is.  certainly  a  very  heavy  security." 
As  he  passed  down  the  street,  he  met  a  very  dis- 
tinguished lawyer,  who  hooked  arms  with  him,  and 
wished  him  to  go  with  him.  My  brother  told  him 
he  would  like  to  do  so,  but  he  had  set  out  to  pro- 
cure security  for  his  brother,  who  had  just  been 
appointed  to  the  Land-Office.  "Why,  I  did  not 
know  you  had  a  brother.  Come  along;  1 11  go  his 
security."  This  afforded  my  brother  great  amuse- 
ment, and  myself  some  mortification.  When  my 
friend  asked  me  if  I  had  got  that  security,  and  I 
told  him  yes,  a  gentleman  who  had  never  yet  seen 
me  kindly  offered  to  go  my  security,  he  looked 
comical  too. 

Mr.  Larned,  a  young  Presbyterian  minister  from 
the  East,  preached  a  few  times  in  the  city,  and  was 
employed  by  the  Presbyterians  and  their  adherents. 
He  was  a  very  amiable  young  man,  highly  polished, 
and  of  popular  manners.  He  went  home  to  prepare 
for  a  permanent  residence.  He  returned  in  the  ship 
on  a  Sabbath,  and  the  people  generally  expected  he 
would  occupy  our  tabernacle.  This  was  not  known 
to  brother  Moore,  and  he,  of  course,  prepared  to 
preach.  Here  was  saddled  on  me,  perhaps,  the 
heaviest  cross  I  had  to  bear  in  the  morning  of  my 
experience.  Just  before  brother  Moore  began,  here 
came  in  Mr.  Larned  and  all  his  staff,  and  the  house 
was  well  filled.  Our  preacher  had  asked  him  in 


DIVERS    LABORS. 

the  pulpit,  and  a  considerable  conversation  passed 
between  them.  Presently  the  preacher  requested 
that  brother  L.  would  come  in  the  stand.  I  had  got 
to  understand  some  of  his  facial  expressions,  and 
moved  up  with  some  considerable  timidity. 

"Here,  brother  L.,  you  will  have  to  preach  this 
afternoon." 

"  0,  not  at  all,  brother !  Here  is  brother  Lamed. 
All  the  congregation  expects  him  to  preach." 

"No,  brother  L.,  I  have  been  several  weeks 
knocking  about  at  sea,  and  I  have  nothing  in  the 
world  to  preach." 

I  could  not  comprehend  this  reason — how  these 
several  weeks  of  perfect  leisure  on  the  solitude  of 
the  ocean  should  incapacitate  him.  I  looked  up  to 
brother  Moore,  and  saw  that  his  "sickness"  was 
upon  him,  and  the  prospect  hopeless.  In  the  mean 
time,  Larned  seized  me  by  the  arm,  and  pulled  me 
up.  I  will  not  say,  reader,  that  there  was  nothing 
like  natural  spunk  creeping  over  my  nerves.  I 
rose  up  and  preached;  yes,  through  mercy,  I 
•preached.  There  are  times  when  men  may  speak 
honestly  of  themselves.  When  our  Lord  said  of 
Nathaniel,  and  to  his  face,  "Behold  an  Israel- 
ite, indeed,  in  whom  there  is  no  guile,"  Nathaniel 
asked  with  childish  innocence,  "How  knowest  thou 
me?"  He  felt  himself  that  he  was  without  guile; 
but  the  curiosity  with  him  was — how  the  Savior 
knew  it.  So,  laying  aside  all  voluntary  humility, 
I  carried  the  rag  off  from  the  bush  that  day. 


202  THE    CROSS. 

Some,  who  were  not  in  the  habit  of  going  to 
church,  said,  "Does  the  Deputy  preach?"  Others 
said,  "Well,  if  we  can  raise  up  preachers  from 
among  us,  where  is  the  necessity  of  importation?" 
Brother  Moore  was  well  pleased  for  more  than  one 
reason;  and  he  lectured  me  severely  on  my  diffi- 
dence, and  finally  said  I  was  a  greater  preacher 
than  Mr.  Larned. 

"Why,  what  do  you  mean?" 

"I  mean  that,  although  you  are  not  so  flowery, 
and  so  well  drilled  in  elocution,  yet  if  each  of  you 
were  required  to  preach  on  a  text  you  had  never 
thought  of,  you  would  beat  him." 

This  made  me  feel  cheap,  under  a  consciousness 
that  my  sermon  was  not  the  impulse  of  the  moment. 
I  had  been  plowing  with  Adam  Clarke,  and  had 
learned  that  it  was  a  shame  for  a  minister  to  say, 
"I  am  not  prepared."  And  as  I  was  liable  to  so 
many  traps,  I  had  concluded  always  to  have  at 
least  a  frame-work  standing  in  my  mind  ready  for 
clapboarding  and  shingling;  and  I  thought  that 
Mr.  Larned  could  almost  shake  sermons  out  "of  his 
coat  sleeve.  A  little  while  after  I  was  speaking  to 
a  lady  of  a  beautiful  sermon  he  had  preached  on 
the  Sabbath.  She  smiled,  and  said,  "It  was  very 
pretty,  but  you  had  the  advantage  of  me  in  hearing 
it."  "Why?"  "You  know  his  office  adjoins  my 
room,  and  I  heard  it  preached  six  times  last 
week — once  a  day — as  audibly  as  I  heard  it  on 
Sabbath."  This  labor  of  love  did  not  lessen  my 


DIVERS    LABORS.  203 

esteem  for  him,  but  it  disabused  me  of  the  idea  of 
his  preaching  without  labor.  One  Sabbath  he 
preached  on  the  unconditional  perseverance  of  the 
saints.  His  argument  was— a  Christian  might  com- 
mit any  crime  in  the  catalogue  of  human  vices — "he 
may  steal,  get  drunk,  yea,  murder,  if  he  will;  but 
here  is  our  stronghold — no  child  of  God  can  will  to 
do  such  things."  On  going  home  I  saw  him  seated 
in  the  open  parlor  of  a  Presbyterian  lady ;  he  hailed 
me,  and  asked  me  to  step  in. 

"How  did  you  like  my  doctrine  to-day?" 

"You  know,  of  course,  we  Methodists  don't  be- 
lieve a  word  of  it." 

""Where  was  it  deficient?" 

"You  said  a  child  of  God  might  get  drunk  or 
even  murder." 

"Yes,  but  observe — 'if  he  will;'  but  it  is  morally 
impossible  for  him  to  will." 

"Do  you  not  believe  David  was  a  child  of  God?" 

"Yes." 

"But  David  sinned—" 

Here  the  Presbyterian  sister  rushed  out  of  the 
other  room,  and  said,  "Yes,  brother  L.,  you  have 
him  there;  for  David  did  actually  commit  adul- 
tery with  Uriah's  wife."  This  raised  a  laugh  and 
blush  from  both  of  us,  and  lest  the  lady,  in  her 
vehemence,  should  enter  into  particulars,  I  fled — 
quite  pleased  with  handling  him  in  this  "shorter 
way." 

Mr.  Larned  was  of  a  handsome  exterior,  and  had 


204  THE    CROSS. 

he  lived  a  few  years  would  have  been  the  brightest 
shaft  in  the  ministerial  quiver  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  But,  alas!  he  finished  his  course  in  two 
years,  lamented  by  all. 

To  finish  this  sketch.  At  the  General  Conference 
in  Boston,  being  sent  to  assist  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister, in  one  of  the  suburban  villages,  as  we  were 
sitting  in  his  study  I  saw  a  small  picture  hanging 
over  the  mantle-piece;  approaching  closer,  I  ex- 
claimed, "My  friend  Larned!"  There  he  was,  in 
all  the  bloom  and  beauty  of  youth,  though  nearly 
fifty  years  had  intervened. 

We  were  getting  rich  in  preachers  now.  The 
Baptist  minister  still  labored  among  us.  He  heard 
me  preach  one  day,  and  afterward  called  to  see 
me — no  doubt  with  the  kindest  intention,  for  he" 
was  a  good  man — and  in  a  very  delicate  way  began 
to  show  me  wherein  I  had  perpetrated  heresy.  And 
as  our  Churches  were  just  organized,  it  became  us 
to  watch  over  each  other  in  love. 

"Wherein  have  I  erred  from  the  truth?" 

"Why,  we  have  judged,  from  your  sermon,  that 
you  do  not  believe  in  the  preexistence  of  Jesus 
Christ." 

"  We  believe  firmly  in  his  divinity." 

"  Yes ;  but  you  do  not  believe  in  the  eternal 
existence  of  his  humanity." 

"Certainly  not." 

He  labored  hard  to  recover  me;  and  finally,  wax- 
ing warm,  he  notified  me  that  he  would  make  known 


DIVERS    LABORS.  205 

his  discovery  to  my  minister :  "  He  will  correct  it, 
and  put  an  end  to  this  error." 

He  laid  in  his  charge  to  brother  Moore  :  "  Brother 
L.  does  not  believe  that  the  humanity  of  Christ  is 
from  all  eternity." 

"Do  you  believe  it?" 

"Yes." 

"  Well,  my  dear  brother,  you  are  in  error.  And 
if  you  were  charged  before  the  Baptist  Church,  and 
would  not  recant,  they  would  expel  you." 

He  took  considerable  pains  to  put  him  right,  and 
the  Baptist  minister,  before  he  left,  requested  to  let 
it  "fall  in  the  water,"  as  the  French  say. 

There  were  some  colored  people  in  the  city  who 
used  to  be  Methodists,  and  they  applied  to  our 
Church  to  give  them  a  leader,  as  they  were  not 
permitted  to  meet  without  a  white  man  of  char- 
acter. No  one  among  our  white  members  was  will- 
ing to  take  up  this  cross.  After  considering  the 
thing  in  all  its  bearings,  although  the  most  public 
man  among  them,  I  consented  to  lead  them.  This 
class  grew  fast.  The  masters  generally  would  give 
them  a  certificate  that  they  were  willing  to  put 
them  under  my  religious  instruction.  They  were 
as  pious  a  band  of  Africans  as  ever  assembled 
together.  Eeligion  seemed  to  be  their  all.  They 
hired  an  indifferent  building  at  a  very  extravagant 
rate.  When  the  day  would  come  to  raise  their 
quarterly  rent,  after  meeting  they  would  march  up 
to  the  stand,  and  almost  cover  it  with  notes  and 


206  THE    CROSS. 

silver — money  they  had  earned  on  Saturday,  or  by 
privileges  their  owners  had  accorded  them.  Some, 
from  their  appearance,  needed  the  money  them- 
selves; but  they  seemed  to  plank  it  down  with 
great  glee.  I  never  saw  the  like  among  whites  or 
blacks,  except  in  Honnold's  settlement,  on  the 
Zanesville  circuit.  When  they  would  come  up,  on 
the  day  appointed  for  the  collection  of  quarterage, 
and  almost  cover  the  table  with  their  money,  it 
would  always  carry  my  mind  back  to  my  Orleans 
Blues.  It  was  rather  a  fearful  work  to  lead  this 
class.  Many  would  stop  and  eavesdrop  during  the 
exercises.  One  day  a  powerful-built  man  seemed 
to  get  very  happy,  and  wound  up  in  a  voice  that 
might  have  been  heard  half  through  the  square, 
"Glory  be  to  God]  we  will  take  New  Orleans  yet." 
This  made  me  tremble,  and  I  peeped  out  of  the 
window. 

One  of  our  class  was  a  preacher,  and  quite  popu- 
lar among  his  fellow-servants;  and  when  he  joined 
the  Baptists  they  were  greatly  aggrieved.  The 
Baptist  missionary  had  an  immense  crowd  to  see 
the  immersion.  But  Hawkins  shook  off  the  muddy 
water  of  the  Mississippi,  and  returned  to  his  own 
company,  and  said  he  was  all  Methodist,  only  he 
wanted  to  be  dipped.  Our  colored  class  became 
very  large  before  I  left  the  place. 


LICENSED    TO    PEEACH.  207 


XVI. 

LICENSED    TO    PREACH-LIFE   IN 
NEW    ORLEANS. 

HEARING  that  the  Mississippi  Conference  was  to 
sit,  about  thirty  miles  beyond  the  lake,  the  society 
delegated  me  to  attend  it,  and,  if  possible,  to  per- 
suade the  Bishop  to  come  over  to  our  city  and  see 
the  society.  My  brother  wishing  to  cross  the  lake, 
we  rigged  up  one  of  our  revenue  boats,  and  sailed 
over.  When  I  arrived  at  the  house  where  the 
Conference  was  to  assemble,  it  was  found  that  we 
had  mistaken  the  time  by  one  week.  But  the 
brother  who  owned  the  farm  insisted  on  my  stay- 
ing. The  farm  was  surrounded  by  a  dense  forest, 
as  far  as  I  could  see,  of  several  miles,  and  seemed 
to  me  a  dreary  solitude;  but  while  walking  down 
the  lane,  in  the  evening  hour,  meditating  like  Isaac, 
but  not  under  the  same  expectation,  Bishop  M'Ken- 
dree  and  his  traveling  companions  hove  in  view. 
He  was  much  surprised  at  finding  me  in  that 
region,  as  the  last  time  he  saw  me  was  in  old  Vir- 
ginia, and  not  grown.  When  the  Conference  assem- 
bled, there  were  about  seventeen  preachers.  The 
most  of  them  were  entertained  by  our  farmer- 
brother  with  princely  kindness;  and,  as  the  session 


208  THE    CROSS. 

was  held  in  his  house,  we  had  not  far  to  walk.  I 
had  never  encountered  Methodist  ministers  in  a 
body.  As  they  had  met  me  singly  they  appeared 
of  very  solemn  aspect.  I  was  not  prepared  to  ap- 
preciate the  high  key  to  which  their  nerves  were 
strung  by  a  joyful  meeting,  after  twelve  months  of 
excessive  labor,  and  long  good  behavior,  and  their 
spicy  wit  and  jovial  jokes  almost  gave  me  offense, 
and  I  came  very  near  concluding  that  I  was  about 
the  best  man  there  except  the  Bishop.  A  number 
of  us  slept  in  one  room,  and,  while  I  was  saying 
my  prayers,  one  raised  up  his  head  and  said, 
"  Brother,  if  you  do  n't  hurry  on  that  prayer,  you 
will  be  left  in  the  dark,  for  your  candle  is  'most 
out;"  and  he  really  kept  his  ear  up,  as  if  he  ex- 
pected an  answer.  The  Bishop  finally  concluded  he 
could  not  go  with  me  to  New  Orleans,  nor  could  he 
tell  when  we  would  have  a  visitation.  A  few  days 
after  our  return,  he,  in  company  with  brother 
Winans,  suddenly  appeared  among  us.  One  day, 
while  seated  in  a  private  house — among  several 
members,  male  and  female — he  said,  with  his  own 
peculiar  smile,  "Brethren,  I  pronounce  this  a  quar- 
terly conference.  You  are  in  no  Conference,  no 
district,  no  circuit.  I  say  this  is  a  quarterly  con- 
ference ;  and,  if  any  object,  or  dispute  my  authority, 
show  your  objections." 

"No  objections.  Well,  if  you  have  any  business, 
bring  it  forward." 

One  said,  "We  have  not  much  business,  but  we 


LIFE    IN    NEW   ORLEANS.  209 

wish  brother  L.  licensed.  I  immediately  rose  up 
and  said,  "I  had  made  no  such  request."  "Well, 
brother,  you  will  not  set  up  your  judgment  against 
the  Church."  The  vote  was  put,  and  the  Bishop 
wrote  my  first  license.  This  was  the  way  they 
made  me  a  preacher;  but  I  have  always  contended 
that  I  was  a  preacher  before  they  touched  me. 

My  eldest  brother,  Edwin,  was  residing  in  the 
city  before  I  went  there.  The  brother  next  younger 
than  myself,  Thomas,  soon  moved  there,  and  pub- 
lished a  popular  paper,  which  kept  a  strict  oversight 
of  the  city  fathers  and  sanitary  officers  —  mostly 
French — who  cared  very  little  about  the  cleanliness 
of  the  place,  because  they  knew  that  what  would 
poison  Americans  would  fatten  themselves.  They, 
however,  subscribed  liberally  to  the  paper,  to  learn 
what  was  said  about  them;  and  our  labor  was  not 
in  vain.  My  third  and  youngest  brother,  John, 
who  was  an  artist,  came  out  last,  and  got  a  profit- 
able place  in  the  custom-house.  My  manner  of  liv- 
ing was  on  the  bachelor  order,  which  was  pretty 
much  the  ruling  order  in  .those  days.  We  might 
give  a  specimen  of  our  fixings  and  rambles. 

In  order  to  secure  an  occasional  retreat  from  the 
busy  scenes  of  life,  I  fitted  up  a  small  building, 
which  stood  in  a  retired  situation,  behind  my  broth- 
er's printing-office.  It  was  so  surrounded  by  loftier 
tenements,  as  to  throw  the  incessant  rattling  of 
drays  and  noisy  hum  of  men  in  the  dull  distance. 

We  have  nothing  romantic  to  record  concerning  the 

18 


210  THE    CROSS. 

house  of  our  pilgrimage.  There  was  no  spreading 
beech,  with  "old  fantastic  roots" — no  cooling  fount- 
ains— no  well-dressed  garden,  breathing  rich  per- 
fumes; but,  contrariwise,  Jamestown  weed  and  dqg- 
fennel,  of  luxurious  growth.  It  was,  however,  a 
place  of  comparative  quietude;  and  that  was  all  to 
me.  It  was  no  light  task  to  establish  a  closet  in 
the  Crescent  City ;  and,  moreover,  to  make  a  full  con- 
fession— "my  public  shame — my  solitary  pride!" — 
I  made  poetry  in  those  days.  A  novice  would  say, 
"The  cloud-capped  mountains,  the  flowery  vale,  the 
embowered  garden,  perspiring  celestial  fragrance  " — 
these  are  the  scenes  where  the  Muses  love  to  frolic, 
and  dispense  their  richest  favors.  But  sour  ex- 
perience says,  Nay.  The  somber  and  unfurnished 
room,  where  no  "woodbines  flaunt — no  roses  shed  a 
couch" — where  sweat  and  ink  ooze  in  close  affinity — 
where,  indeed,  there  is  no  production  of  nature  or 
art  to  rival,  in  beauty,  Webster's  Dictionary — there 
is  the  palace  of  song,  the  factory  of  poesy.  Well, 
here  we  wrought  till  we  found  that  all  the  best 
rhyming  words  were  used  up,  and  there  was  no 
new  jingle  under  the  sun.  This  will,  by  and  by,  be 
the  case  in  regard  to  prose.  The  only  advantage  it 
has  now,  is,  that  the  rhymeless  words  are  in  the 
majority,  and,  consequently,  can  run  more  changes 
and  transpositions.  But  as  the  words  are  finite, 
and  men  and  women  will  talk  and  write  perpetually, 
there  must  come  a  time  when  they  will  have  to  stop, 
not  only  for  "lack  of  argument,"  but  lack  of  sound, 


LIFE    IN    NEW    ORLEANS.  211 

unless  they  go  on,  as  our  poets  now  do,  not  knowing 
they  are  mere  echoes.  This  is  our  comfort  in  regard 
to  the  novelists.  When  they  have  made  all  the  lies 
that  can  be  shaped  in  the  English  language,  then 
will  their  end  come. 

But,  if  this  is  the  case,  it  behooves  us,  also,  to 
"make  hay  while  the  sun  shines."  So  to  return  to 
our  narrative.  A  high  board-fence  separated  my 
homestead  from  a  building  of  similar  structure. 
Who  lived  there  —  whether  they  were  English  or 
Irish  —  whites  or  quadroons,  were  questions  which 
did  not  concern  us.  We  used,  then,  to  live  strictly 
up  to  the  good  rule,  "Let  not  your  left  hand  know 
what  your  right  hand  doeth."  We  Southerners 
were  not  busy-bodies  in  other  men's  matters.  A 
certain  new-comer,  in  remarking  on  this  singularity, 
said  that,  in  questioning  a  merchant  closely,  in 
regard  to  the  domestic  matters  of  his  partner,  he 
could  not  tell  him  whether  he  was  a  single  or  mar- 
ried man.  We  suspect,  however,  that  he  would 
not,  for  this  simple  reason — it  was  nobody's  busi- 
ness, and  the  unmannerly  stranger  was  breaking  in 
upon  our  order  of  things.  This  habit  might  seem 
unsocial  in  some;  but  it  is  abundantly  better  than 
the  gossiping  and  backbiting  of  some  folks,  who 
attend  to  every  body's  business  better  than  they  do 
to  their  own. 

On  one  occasion,  however,  I  was  compelled  to  pry 
into  my  neighbor's  matters.  On  Christmas  eve  I 
had  retired  earlier  than  usual,  and  had  begun  to 


212  THE    CROSS. 

doze  comfortably,  when  I  was  disturbed  by  a  low, 
murmuring  sound  of  distress,  occasionally  mingled 
with  groans  and  sobs.  The  little  gate  was  ever  and 
anon  swinging  on  its  hinges;  and  every  new  visitor 
seemed  to  swell  the  tide  of  woe.  This  did  not  make 
me  unhappy;  it  only  roused  my  sympathy,  and 
turned  the  tide  of  thought  into  a  more  serious  and 
mournful  channel;  for,  in  those  days  of  youthful 
piety,  whether  I  wept  with  those  who  wept,  or  smiled 
with  those  who  smiled,  still  my  God  was  with  me, 
and  I  had  peace  within.  It  is  true,  even  then,  I 
had  heard  of  the  "hypo"  with  the  hearing  of  the 
ear;  but  I  had  placed  it  in  the  catalogue  of  "Old 
Wives'  Fables."  I  said  to  myself,  "Can  this  be  a 
wake?"  Stealing  softly  from  my  bed,  and  peeping 
through  the  fence,  I  saw  the  house  was  brilliantly 
lit  up,  the  doors  and  windows  spread  wide  open, 
and  there  was  a  corpse,  surrounded  by  relatives 
and  friends,  who  had  come  to  weep  with  the  house- 
hold. My  heart  was  touched;  for  never  had  I  wit- 
nessed grief  more  sincere — more  natural.  Having 
again  retired,  I  soon  fell  asleep;  but  not  so  soundly 
as  to  be  wholly  unconscious  of  what  was  passing 
around.  The  weeping  and  the  wailing  mingled  with 
my  dreaming  fancies:  the  earth  seemed  to  be  float- 
ing in  a  sea  of  tears,  and  charity  and  faith  were 
still  in  wild  disordered  exercise. 

About  midnight  the  clock  began  to  strike.  At 
every  stroke  the  tempest  of  sorrow  rose  higher  and 
higher.  "Nine,  ten,  eleven,  twelve!"  Just  then 


LIFE    IN    NEW    OELEANS.  213 

the  afflicted  crowd  broke  loose  in  one  united,  and, 
as  I  felt,  infernal  laugh.  They  sprang  to  their  feet, 
and  danced,  and  fiddled,  and  romped,  and  laughed 
again,  louder  and  still  louder.  My  mind,  in  the. 
mean  time,  took  a  complete  somerset,  and  I  ex- 
claimed, "Surely  the  devil's  abroad  in  the  land!" 
I  felt  that  he  was  rummaging  in  every  corner  of 
my  room,  rolling  and  tittering  under  my  bed,  try- 
ing to  scramble  up  into  my  soul,  whether  I  would 
or  not.  My  flesh  crawled  —  the  hair  of  my  head 
seemed  to  rise.  I  sprang  from  my  bed,  with  my 
eyes  shut,  of  course,  for  I  strangely  felt  that  the 
testimony  of  sight  was  all  that  was  lacking  in 
bringing  me  in  open  and  manifest  contact  with  the 
"wicked  one"  I  hastily  threw  on  my  clothes,  and 
rushed  into  the  street,  slamming  the  door  behind 
me,  and  hastened  to  leave  the  unnatural  merriment. 
The  cool  and  bracing  air  of  midnight,  so  peculiar  to 
Orleans,  pressed  my  throbbing  temples  with  its 
friendly  breath,  and  seemed  to  whisper,  "How 
mean,  how  niggardly  mean,  that  the  devil  could  not 
allow  one  poor  Christian,  and  he  'less  than  the 
least,'  the  small  space  of  six  feet  by  three,  within 
the*  bounds  of  his  nocturnal  range!"  The  enemy 
might  have  had  more  to  do  with  my  heart  on  other 
occasions;  but  never  before  had  I  realized  such  an 
experimental  verity  of  his  presence  —  in  proper 
person. 

I  passed  on  to  a  region  of  quietude;  for  there  is 
commonly  an  hour  or  two  of  silence,  out  of  twenty- 


214  THE    CROSS. 

four,  even  in  that  babbling  city  —  that  conventicle 
of  every  language  and  every  faith.  As  I  passed 
down  by  the  great  church,  the  door  being  ajar,  I 
•  discovered  that  there  was  a  light  within.  Prompt- 
ed by  curiosity,  I  slipped  in,  and  beheld  an  unusual 
sight.  In  one  corner  of  the  church  had  been 
erected  a  manger — a  rough  temporary  shed,  such  as 
we  find  connected  with  almost  every  cabin  in  new 
settlements.  About  a  cart-load  of  straw  was  piled 
in  the  center.  Two  animals,  of  the  size  of  a  New- 
foundland dog,  in  carved  work,  were  stationed  on 
the  right  and  left.  It  would  have  saved  strangers 
an  abundance  of  perplexity,  if  the  artist  -had 
printed  on  one,  "The  ox,"  and  on  the  other,  "The 
ass."  But,  as  I  had  some  idea  of  the  drift  of  it,  it 
was  made  out.  Joseph  and  Mary  were  as  large  as 
life,  and  dressed  in  royal  robes,  richly  spangled 
with  gold  and  silver,  and  sparkling  jewels,  suffi- 
ciently imposing — as  we  thought — to  have  secured 
a  reception  at  the  inn,  if  the  Roman  emperor  and 
all  his  tetrarchs  had  been  guests.  The  blessed  Vir- 
gin was  placed,  according  to  our  Protestant  notions, 
in  a  very  improper  attitude,  and  the  babe  presented 
a  strange  appearance.  Two  angels  were  perched 
upon  the  eaves  of  the  shed,  and  gazing  on  the 
group  below.  I  was  soon  satisfied  with  the  poorly- 
contrived  fixment,  and  would  have  retired;  but 
thinking  it  was  more  tolerable  than  the  loud  Satanic 
"ha!  ha!"  that  had  dispossessed  me  of  my  lodgings, 
I  concluded  to  sit  down  to  see  the  end  of  the  mat- 


LIFE    IN    NEW    ORLEANS.  215 

ter.  As  the  day  began  to  dawn,  the  entry  and 
aisles  became  vocal  with  the  prattling  of  infantile 
devotees — groups  of  smiling  children,  bearing  their 
offerings  to  the  consecrated  manger.  It  was  divert- 
ing to  see  their  buoyant  and  exulting  joy  when 
they  first  saw  the  babe.  Candies,  raisins,  kisses, 
cakes,  and  other  sacrifices,  all  costly,  no  doubt,  in 
their  young  imagination,  were  freely  thrown  into 
the  manger,  till  the  straw  was  almost  hid  under 
the  profusion  of  "good  things"  that  had  been  show- 
ered upon  it.  That  morning's  exhibition  lightened 
my  mind  of  one  mystery  which  had  been  hanging 
about  it.  At  other  religious  festivals  we  had  seen 
some  of  our  fellow-citizens,  who  were  evidently  men 
of  strong  minds,  liberal  education,  and  polished 
manners,  who  nevertheless  succumbed  to  the  most 
disgusting  idolatry.  How  they  could,  allowing  them 
to  be  sincere — which  of  necessity  we  did — be  so 
grossly  imposed  on,  we  could  not  conceive.  But 
here  it  was  all  revealed.  This  manifest  idolatry 
was  planted  in  infancy.  It  had  grown  with  their 
growth,  strengthened  with  their  strength.  It  had 
been  entwined  with  all  the  associations  of  their 
younger,  brighter,  and  happier  days.  If  error, 
which  has  no  countenance  in  reason  or  revelation, 
by  an  early  lodgment  in  the  human  breast,  be- 
comes so  immovable,  that  even  high  attainments  in 
science  can  not  displace  it,  how  industrious  ought 
parents  to  be  in  fixing  in  the  infant's  mind  the  om- 
nipotent truths  of  the  everlasting  Gospel!  These 


216  THE    CROSS. 

juvenile  exercises  continued  till  after  sunrise,  when, 
I  suppose,  they  melted  away  "like  the  morning 
cloud;"  for  I  found,  about  noon,  that  the  manger  of 
Bethlehem,  with  the  ox  and  the  ass,  and  all  its  in- 
mates and  appurtenances,  had  fled,  and  made  room 
for  other  idols  and  older  worshipers.  I  retired  to 
my  lowly  domicile,  found  the  atmosphere  more  pure, 
the  malign  influence  all  gone,  and  spent  there  many 
an  hour  of  piety  and  peace  —  "prayer  being  my 
chief  business — all  my  pleasure  praise."  Some  may 
smile  at  my  sore  wrestling  with  powers  and  princi- 
palities; but,  hark  ye,  I  do  not  say  the  devil  was 
actually  in  my  hermitage.  I  only  state  my  feelings 
pending  that  sudden  and  inhuman  transition  from 
what  I  conceived  to  be  the  most  sincere  and  heart- 
felt sorrow,  to  a  revelry  unparalleled,  as  I  thought, 
in  all  the  fiendish  orgies  on  mercy's  side  of  hell. 
Neither  dare  I  deny  that  he  was  there.  It  might 
please  a  class;  but  what  should  I  gain  thereby? 
The  boon  which  the  dying  fox  would  have  inherited 
by  the  kind  interference  of  his  friends — a  fresh 
swarm  of  bees  and  flies.  There  are  still  many,  who, 
with  the  open  Bible  in  their  hands,  would  dispute 
with  me  the  very  personality  of  the  devil.  More- 
over, I  like  to  anger  infidelity  by  exercising  every 
kind  of  credulity  that  can  be  possibly  fastened  on 
the  Scriptures. 

As  my  place  in  the  naval  office  made  it  necessary 
for  me  to  sign  the  clearance  of  every  vessel,  the 
secretary  of  the  Bible  Society  kept  me  supplied 


LIFE    IN    NEW    ORLEANS.  217 

with  a  large  stock  of  Bibles,  in  every  modern  lan- 
guage, for  gratuitous  distribution  to  such  captains 
who  were  destitute.  I  enjoyed  much  in  this  work, 
and  also  some  persecution.  One  day  I  presented  a 
copy  to  a  lake  captain.  His  face  at  once  flushed 
up,  and  he  cursed  heartily,  and  said, 

"If  you  would  give  me  a  volume  of  Shakspeare, 
or  something  of  that  kind,  I  would  read  it." 

I  felt  hurt,  and  I  suppose  he  saw  it.  Before  he 
reached  the  city  again  an  awful  storm  of  intense 
coldness  swept  the  coast  and  lakes.  Several  of 
the  lake  craft  went  ashore,  and  some  crews  were 
found  frozen  to  their  posts.  When  my  thundering 
skipper  came  into  the  office  again,  after  his  papers 
were  signed,  he  stood  silent  with  his  eyes  fixed  on 
my  pile  of  Bibles.  At  last  he  said  in  a  subdued  tone, 

"When  I  was  here  last,  you  kindly  presented  me 
a  Bible,  and  I  roughly  and  wickedly  rejected  it; 
but  I  have  been  brought  to  feel  the  need  of  such  a 
book  on  board,  and  if  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to 
make  me  the  offer  again,  I  would  gladly  accept  it." 

But  in  most  cases  the  Bible  was  gratefully  re- 
ceived. A  German  captain,  who  commanded  a  large 
merchantman,  came  to  clear  one  day.  I  held  out  to 
him  a  fine  family  Bible,  in  German,  and  asked  him 
if  he  would  accept  of  it.  He  understood  English 
very  imperfectly.  "Why,  that  is  the  very  thing  I 
have  long  been  wanting."  Seeing  that  he  misun- 
derstood me,  and  expected  to  pay,  I  told  him  we 

charged  him  nothing. 

19 


218  THE    CROSS. 

He  jumped  back,  and  exclaimed,  "0,  no,  you 
can  not  afford  that."  I  explained  to  him  that  there 
was  a  large  society  that  supplied  us  with  them  to 
give  away.  He  pressed  the  book  to  him,  and  said, 

"  Is  it  possible  that  in  a  world  like  this,  there  can 
be  found  so  many  generous  men — generous  even  to 
foreigners  that  they  have  never  seen?  Pray,  sir, 
let  me  express  my  gratitude  to  you.  I  have  two 
or  three  cases  of  my  costly  Holland  gin  on  board, 
put  up  in  highly-finished  bottles.  I  will  send  a 
case  down  to  your  office." 

"0,  no,  captain,  I  am  only  the  distributer;  they 
cost  me  nothing,  and,  besides,  there  are  a  great 
many  men  in  this  country  who  never  drink  spirit- 
uous liquor." 

At  this  he  stretched  his  eyes  still  wider,  exclaim- 
ing, "What  a  country!" 

It  is  a  matter  of  sincere  regret  that  even  in  this 
enlightened  age  of  Christianity,  while  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  the  kingdom  of  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem,  is 
spreading  its  victorious  march,  and  waving  its 
blood-stained  banner  over  almost  every  nation,  there 
should  be  found  men — professedly  religious — who 
not  only  neglect  the  Sacred  Volume  themselves,  but 
would  prevent  others  from  receiving  its  saving 
teachings.  The  Popes  of  Home,  in  their  imaginary 
holiness,  have  denounced  the  Bible  Society  as  an 
enemy  who  is  sowing  tares  among  wheat.  When  we 
think  of  the  awful  consequences  these  unhappy  men 
are  drawing  down  upon  their  guilty  heads,  our 


LIFE     IN     NEW     ORLEANS.  219 

souls  tremble  for  those  consequences;  but  when  we 
reflect  how  fragile  and  nugatory  are  all  their  at- 
tempts to  impede  the  progress  of  Divine  truth,  or 
to  prevent  the  glory  of  the  Gospel,  we  are  led  to 
laugh  at  all  their  fruitless  efforts.  Jehovah  himself 
will  hold  such  characters  in  derision,  and  if  they 
repent  not  of  their  folly,  he  will  laugh  at  their  ca- 
lamity, and  mock  when  their  fear  cometh.  Blessed 
be  God,  the  age  of  unsanctified  profession  has  passed 
away.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  still  advancing, 
lengthening  its  cord  and  strengthening  its  stake. 
The  temple  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  rising  upon  the 
ruins  of  demolished  idolatry,  and  will  rise  till  its 
holy  steeple  will  pierce  the  heavens,  and  the  topstone 
itself  be  brought  forth  with  shouting,  crying  grace 
unto  it! 


220  THE    CROSS. 


XVII. 

LEAVE  NEW  ORLEANS-SCHOOL-TEACH- 
ING—CAMP  MEETING. 

As  I  was  so  favorably  situated  at  New  Orleans, 
both  as  it  regarded  my  spiritual  and  temporal  in- 
terests, it  might  be  proper  to  say  something  about 
the  circumstances  that  led  to  my  removal.  My 
oldest  brother,  the  only  one  of  us  who  was  married, 
in  returning  from  a  visit  to  Virginia,  brought  a 
sister  along  with  him  as  far  as  Lexington,  in  Ken- 
tucky, when  finding  the  Ohio  River  so  low  that  he 
was  obliged  to  take  to  a  skiff,  he  left  her  there. 
When  he  got  home,  it  was  determined  that  I  should 
go  up  for  her,  hoping  that  before  my  arrival  the 
river  would  be  up.  The  steamboat  on  which  I  em- 
barked could  get  no  higher  than  the  mouth  of 
the  Ohio,  and  I  was  under  the  necessity  of  walking 
up  to  Louisville,  in  order  to  take  the  stage  for  Lex- 
ington. 

It  was  a  very  singular  Fall.  The  woods  in  Ken- 
tucky, Virginia,  and  as  far  as  we  could  hear  from, 
were  all  on  fire.  Although  Indian  Summer,  the 
sun  was  not  seen  for  several  weeks.  In  traveling 
through  the  forests,  we  would  often  have  fire'  on 
both  sides  of  the  road,  and  sometimes  we  had  to 


LEAVE     NEW     ORLEANS.  221 

wait  till  a  tree,  nearly  severed  by  fire,  had  fallen. 
At  other  times,  after  nice  calculation,  we  would 
venture  to  run  past,  just  in  time  to  hear  the  crash 
behind.  Sometimes  we  would  get  out  of  the  fiery, 
stifling  region,  but  be  waked  up  in  the  night  by 
the  cry  of  "Turn  out  to  fight  the  fire!"  And  here 
it  would  be  coming  like  a  mighty  army,  crackling, 
roaring,  and  spitting,  as  it  were,  tongues  of  fire, 
far  ahead.  In  some  parts  it  enveloped  fences,  barns, 
stacks,  and  even  dwelling-houses.  It  was  a  hard 
matter  for  several  miles  to  get  a  drink  of  water. 
Some  had  to  haul  it  eight  miles.  When  I  arrived 
at  Louisville,  the>  whole  atmosphere  was  filled  with 
smoke  and  dark  ashes.  I  brought  my  sister  from 
Lexington,  to  wait  the  rise  of  the  river.  As  we 
came  out  of  a  Methodist  prayer  meeting  in  the 
evening,  my  sister  said, 

"Brother,  the  man  who  closed  the  meeting  is  a 
tailor." 

"How  do  you  know  he  is  a  tailor,  Angelina?" 

"Why,  did  you  not  hear  him  say,  in  giving  out 
his  appointments,  '  We  must  cut  our  pattern  accord- 
ing to  our  cloth  V  " 

"Well,"  said  I,  "whether  he  is  a  tailor  or  not, 
I  '11  go  and  see  him  to-morrow,  and  see  if  he  can 
board  us,  for  the  river  may  not  rise  this  Winter, 
and  I  like  his  looks  very  much." 

We  found  out  his  name,  and  set  out  in  the  morn- 
ing to  find  his  house.  When  we  came  to  his  door, 
and  saw  the  style  of  the  house,  we  at  once  despaired 


222  THE    CROSS. 

of  getting  board,  but  thought  he  might  recommend 
us  to  some  pious  family.  We  rang,  and  brother 
Overstreet  appeared.  We  made  known  to  him  our 
circumstances,  and  he  kindly  smiled,  and  said, 

"  I  have  never  taken  boarders  yet,  but  I  think  I 
will  have  to  take  you  two." 

We  found  this  family  to  be  the  kindest  we  over 
found  away  from  home. 

The  river  did  not  rise  before  Spring.  Brother 
Overstreet  was  a  man  of  great  sociability,  and 
would  often  invite  young  company  to  spend  the 
evening  with  the  strangers.  One  thing  that  struck 
me  particularly  was  the  size  of  the  Kentucky  girls. 
In  one  large  room  full  there  was  not  one  but  what 
was  far  above  medium  hight.  They  plagued  my 
little  sister  a  great  deal,  by  saying  that  Virginia 
did  not  produce  as  large  corn  as  Kentucky,  and 
they  reckoned  the  reason  why  she  did  not  come  up 
to  the  mark  was,  she  was  raised  on  dodgers  made 
out  of  nubbins.  I  preached  but  seldom  here.  The 
Church  at  that  time  was  ranged  into  two  parties. 
The  females  had  separate  prayer  meetings;  but 
they  would  attend  both — the  party  "out"  seated 
in  the  rear.  When  the  party  "in"  would  pray, 
"0  Lord,  we  have  sinned,  and  done  evil  in  thy 
sight,"  there  would  be  a  response  behind,  with  pro- 
voking emphasis,  "True  e-nough,  Lord!"  When 
the  prayer  was,  "Forgive  us,  O  Lord,  and  enable 
us 'to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  truthfully,"  the 
response  was,  "Amen,  and  amen."  And  yet,  to 


LEAVE    NEW    ORLEANS.  223 

take  the  parties  separately,  they  were  all  as  sweet 
as  sugar. 

Toward  the  Spring  of  the  year,  as  I  was  coming 
out  of  the  meeting-house,  brother  Bascom  took  me 
aside,  and  asked  me  if  I  had  left  any  brothers  in 
New  Orleans. 

"Yes,  three." 

"Because,"  said  he,  "I  saw,  in  a  paper,  to-day, 
that  a  gentleman  of  your  name — I  have  forgotten 
his  first  name — fell  lately  in  a  duel." 

This  went  like  a  dagger  to  my  heart.  I  requested 
him  to  get  fuller  information,  and,  hunting  up  my 
sister,  we  passed  on  rapidly  to  our  home — for  it 
seemed  to  me  that  I  would  drop  before  we  could 
reach  it.  As  soon  as  we  entered  the  door,  I  in- 
formed my  sister  of  the  awful  tidings,  and  we  were 
plunged  into  grief  inexpressible.  The  extreme  an- 
guish that  possessed  us  is,  even  in  this  day,  a  mys- 
tery to  me.  Brother  Overstreet  and  his  kind  family 
bent  over  us  with  all  the  sympathy  of  close  rela- 
tions. Brother  Bascom  took  a  fraternal  interest  in 
our  sufferings. 

The  tide  of  affliction  was  abundantly  swelled  by 
hearing  that  my  youngest  brother,  John,  had  fallen, 
and  that  my  oldest  brother  died  immediately  after, 
with  a  natural  disease.  The  practice  of  dueling 
had  kept  me  uneasy  all  the  time  I  was  in  New 
Orleans.  Public  opinion  there,  in  that  day,  was 
such  that  no  man,  unless  he  was  a  member  of  some 
Church,  could  refuse  a  challenge — or,  if  manifestly 


224  THE    CROSS. 

insulted,  omit  to  give  one — without  ruining  all  his 
temporal  prospects.  On  this  account  I  often  con- 
versed with  my  brothers  on  this  subject,  and  tried 
to  inspire  them  with  a  proper  abhorrence  of  the 
practice.  But  they  contended  that  it  was  easy 
enough  for  me  to  talk,  as  every  body  knew  my 
profession  bound  my  hands.  But  hardly  any  official 
or  political  man  there  had  escaped  being  called  into 
the  field.  The  case,  as  far  as  I  could  learn,  was 
this:  It  was  my  oldest  brother  who  first  became 
involved  in  the  affair.  My  youngest  brother  in- 
sisted on  taking  his  place,  as  he  had  left  his  family 
in  Virginia  for  a  while;  and  he  was,  moreover,  the 
principal  stay  of  our  widowed  mother  and  her  fam- 
ily. My  oldest  brother  would  not  consent  to  this; 
but  John  so  managed  it  as  to  get  in  between  him 
and  his  antagonist,  and  fell.  My  brother  Thomas 
was  called  out  into  the  same  field,  at  the  same 
time,  but  the  seconds  brought  about  a  reconcilia- 
tion. This  brother  I  had  saved  from  a  duel  before 
I  left  New  Orleans.  An  officer  of  the  army,  up 
the  river,  called  on  him  one  day  to  give  an  account 
for  some  little  observation  that  had  appeared  in  the 
paper.  He  talked  so  insolently  that  my  brother 
struck  him;  a  scuffle  ensued,  and  the  hands  in  the 
office  put  him  out.  The  next  thing  was  a  challenge. 
I  asked  my  brother  if  he  was  going  to  accept  it. 
He  said,  "  Certainly ;  he  is  an  officer,  and  I  must 
of  necessity  accept  it  right  off,  according  to  general 
opinion."  I  told  him  I  only  requested  him  to  do 


LEAVE    NEW    ORLEANS.  225 

one  thing,  as  I  knew  he  would  fight,  and  that  was, 
to  return  as  an  answer,  that,  as  the  gentleman  was 
an  entire  stranger,  he  would  hold  the  matter  in  con- 
sideration, in  order  to  make  some  inquiry.  It  was 
hard  work  to  get  him  to  consent  to  this.  But  I 
urged  that,  although  the  youth  was  in  military  cos- 
tume, he  might  nevertheless  be  in  disgrace.  He 
took  the  course  that  was  advised,  and,  before  the 
time  had  expired,  he  found  that  the  fellow  had 
been  cashiered,  and  driven  from  the  camp — so  that 
he  was  pronounced  by  all  the  "honorables"  to  be 
unworthy  of  his  notice. 

Now  our  family  in  Orleans  was  broken  up,  and 
when  these  sad  tidings  reached  my  mother,  they 
almost  killed  her.  We  concluded  to  return  to  old 
Virginia  in  the  first  place;  and  we  could  only  do 
so  on  horseback.  As  we  were  about  to  start,  I 
was  fearful  my  board  would  nearly  strap  me,  as 
they  say  in  these  times;  but  when  I  asked  brother 
Overstreet  for  the  bill,  he  pleasantly  answered, 
"Not  a  cent.  I  never  intended  to  charge  you  from 
the  beginning."  And  he  pressed  me  to  move  my 
mother's  family  out.  When  we  thought  of  the  love 
and  kindness  of  this  family,  we  departed  in  tears. 
When  we  arrived  home,  I  concluded  that,  after  all 
that  had  passed,  I  never  could  reconcile  it  to  my 
feelings  to  live  again  in  New  Orleans.  I  sent  my 
resignation  to  Washington,  sold  one  of  my  horses, 
and  departed  on  the  other  for  the  West,  with  an 
intention  to  seek  a  living  in  some  place  where  I 


226  THE    CROSS. 

might  move  my  mother's  family,  and  live  at  less 
expense.  In  all  subsequent  years  occasional  doubts 
would  arise  in  my  mind  of  having  done  the  best,  by 
yielding  so  far  to  my  feelings,  as  to  abandon  that 
place — Orleans.  My  temporal  prospects  were  very 
fair;  fields  of  usefulness  were  opening  before  me. 
I  preached,  visited  the  hospitals,  carrying  them  the 
Holy  Bible,  besides  distributing  it  to  all  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  prayed  with  those  who  were  dying 
with  the  yellow  fever,  and  I  enjoyed  a  Savior's  love; 
but  now  I  see  the  hand  of  Providence  in  giving  me 
a  timely  removal  from  the  great  evil  that  was  com- 
ing— before  my  hands  were  stained  with  the  institu- 
tion, or  my  tongue  steeped  in  rebellion  toward  God 
and  man.  Our  white  society  there  had  increased  to 
about  thirty  members,  and  our  colored  class  to  about 
forty.  The  Church  there  has  extended  greatly,  and 
if  the  members  possess  the  spirit  that  moved  their 
predecessors,  many  of  them  are  mourning  over  the 
desolation  of  the  land.  There  is  scarcely  any  part 
of  our  Church  for  which  I  have  cherished  a  more 
lively  interest  than  the  society  in  New  Orleans. 

"What  crosses  have  we  borne,  what  trials  have 
we  passed,"  since  the  Crescent  City  faded  away  in 
the  dim  distance! 

Traveling  westward,  with  a  half-formed  intention 
of  making  for  Louisville,  I  came  to  the  pleasant- 
looking  village  of  Wythe.  Here  I  preached,  and 
some  of  the  citizens  beset  me  to  stop,  and  open  a 
school.  They  said  they  had  not  had  a  male  school 


SCHOOL-TEACHING.  227 

for  some  time,  and  the  last  master  would  sometimes 
get  drunk,  go  to  sleep  on  a  bench,  and  the  children 
would  run  rampant.  I  consented  to  stay  for  a  while, 
and  got  such  a  crowded  school  that  I  thought  it 
best  to  adopt,  to  some  extent,  the  Lancasterian  plan. 
We  would  commence  in  the  morning  by  hearing  the 
first  class  read;  then,  at  the  signal  given,  all  the 
inferior  classes  would  rise  up,  and  the  boys  of  the 
first  would  take  their  places  as  monitors.  Standing 
in  the  midst  of  the  whole,  I  acquired  great  adroit- 
ness in  detecting  the  smallest  blunder.  When  this 
was  over,  the  monitors  would  all  take  their  seats  "at 
the  writing-desk,  where  every  thing  was  previously 
prepared.  Then  I  would  commence  with  the  lower 
classes,  and  hear  them  all  myself.  By  this  time  the 
writing  would  be  finished,  and  the  boys  would  have 
time  to  look  over  their  grammars.  After  the  gram- 
mar exercises  were  over,  at  the  signal  given,  all  the 
classes  would  be  heard  by  the  monitors.  In  the 
afternoon,  arithmetic  would  be  attended  to.  In  this 
way  the  classes  of  young  scholars  would  have  six 
lessons  in"  the  day.  No  time,  except  play-time,  was 
unoccupied.  The  school  moved  on  like  a  factory;  and 
the  large  scholars  were  highly  elated  by  the  idea  of 
taking  a  game  at  teaching,  and  being  themselves 
masters — some.  In  writing  my  history,  my  teaching 
enterprise  must  not  be  slighted — so  bear  with  me. 
One  little  girl,  the  daughter  of  a  notorious  infidel, 
had  been  almost  frightened  out  of  all  growth  by  the 
despotism  of  the  school-discipline  of  that  day.  She 


228  THE    CROSS. 

could  hardly  spell  in  one  syllable;  and  when  she 
would  make  a  mistake  she  would  tremble  like  a 
criminal.  I  saw  she  had  something  to  learn  before 
she  could  learn  to  read.  I  sat  down  by  her  and 
talked  kindly,  told  her  she  should  be  my  girl,  and 
that  I  would  never  whip  her;  then  took  her  on  my 
knee,  whenever  she  said  her  lesson.  At  last  she  had 
all  confidence  in  me,  discarded  her  fears,  and.  pro- 
gressed astonishingly.  She  soon  could  read  well. 

Her  father  heard  that  my  school  was  opened 
every  day  with  prayer,  and  he  became  exceedingly 
angry.  He  came  down  one  evening  to  vent  his 
wrath — indeed  to  whip  me.  I  was  boarding  at  the 
house  of  one  of  the  merchants,  an  Irish  gentleman. 
He  came  into  the  dwelling-house,  swearing  that  if 
I  did  not  quit  this  whining  and  praying  in  school 
that  he  would  thrash  me  and  break  up  my  estab- 
lishment. I  talked  calmly  with  him;  told  him 
it  was  one  of  the  rules  of  my  school.  The  par- 
ents generally  had  no  objection,  and  the  children 
now  looked  for  it;  and  if  the  President  sent  his 
child  to  my  school  I  would  not  alter  the  rule  to 
please  him;  but  if  it  was  so  disagreeable  to  him 
he  could  withdraw  his  child,  and  he  would  be 
charged  nothing.  Here  he  broke  out  afresh  with 
his  curses,  and  swore  he  would  not  take  her 
away,  for  she  had  learned  more  in  one  quarter 
than  she  had  learned  in  other  schools  in  twelve 
months.  I  suggested  that,  perhaps,  the  reason  was 
God  had  helped  me  because  I  called  daily  on  him 


SCHOOL-TEACHING.  229 

for  help.  This  made  him  furious.  He  would  not 
take  her  away,  but  he  would  come  to  the  court- 
house on  Sabbath,  drag  me  out  of  the  stand,  and 
do  my  business  for  me. 

By  this  time  my  Irish  landlady  got  her  nap  up, 
and,  rising  majestically  from  her  seat,  said, 

"Mister ,  if  you  have  no  other  business  here 

but  to  abuse  the  master,  I  will  advertise  you  that 
when  the  carpenter  built  this  house,  he  left  a  hole 
in  it;  and  you  may  take  that  advantage,  and  walk 
out." 

On  this  he  cursed  at  her,  and  reminded  her  that 
they  had  bought  the  house  from  him. 

"Yes,  but  we  bought  it  with  that  hole  in  it,  and 
I  tell  you  to  walk  out." 

On  this  he  looked  sneeringly  at  her,  and  said, 

"Yes,  you  are  at  their  gatherings,  too,  and  I  ex- 
pect it  will  not  be  long  before  you  will  be  talking 
about  being  '  born  again.'  " 

She  bridled  herself  up,  and  said, 

"I  thank  you,  sir,  I  have  not  put  off  this  im- 
portant business  to  this  late  day.  I  was  baptized 
into  Christ  when  I  was  a  baby  in  my  mother's 
arms,  and  was  confirmed  long  before  I  saw  the  likes 
of  you."  « / 

And  she  put  at  him  in  good  earnest,  and  cleared 
her  castle.  It  is  singular  that  he  never  interrupted 
me  again,  but  still  continued  to  send  his  daughter 
to  school;  and  when  I  wound  up  my  business,  I 
concluded  not  to  send  my  bill,  because  I  hated  strife 


230  THE    CROSS. 

and  debate.  But  some  who  knew  him  best,  said 
that  would  make  him  desperately  mad;  so  I  called 
on  him.  He  politely  invited  me  in,  and  said, 

"Mr.  L.,  I  am  sorry  to  hear  that  you  are  going 
to  leave  us.  My  child  has  improved  amazingly 
under  you.  And  I  am  sorry  also  that  I  gave  you 
that  rough  talk;  but  your  religion  recommends  for- 
giveness, and  I  hope  you  will  extend  it  to  me.  I 
assure  you  I  never  paid  a  debt  more  cheerfully." 

While  teaching  here,  the  circuit  preachers  invited 
me  to  come  out  and  help  them  hold  a  two  days' 
meeting.  We  preached  all  Saturday  and  Sunday. 
A  Presbyterian  tavern-keeper  invited  the  preachers 
to  close  the  meeting  at  night  in  his  tavern.  They 
concluded,  if  I  would  exhort,  they  would  close  it 
with  a  prayer  meeting.  While  exhorting,  the  power 
of  the  Lord  seemed  to  come  down;  some  shouted, 
some  cried  for  mercy,  and  a  revival  commenced  and 
ran  through  the  neighborhood,  especially  among  the 
Presbyterian  children.  The  tavern-keeper  walked 
about  the  house  clapping  his  hands  and  praising 
God,  because  he  had  condescended  to  bless  his  tav- 
ern with  the  shout  of  heaven-born  souls.  But  his 
daughter,  who  had  been  a  vain,  fashionable  girl, 
was  converted,  and  she  threw  off  all  her  jewels  and 
finery.  This  so  exasperated  the  old  man  that  he 
declared  no  Methodist  preacher  should  ever  enter 
his  house  again,  with  the  exception  of  the  young 
man  from  Wythe — he  was  a  gentleman. 

The  Presbyterians  generally  forbid  their  children 


SCHOOL -TEACHING. 

to  unite  with  our  Church,  and  were  very  anxious 
to  receive  them  into  their  own;  but  the  young 
people  said  they  would  join  no  Church  but  the 
Methodist,  and  this  they  would  do  as  soon  as  they 
were  of  age.  I  have  understood  since  that  some  of 
them  did  so,  and  others  backslid,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected. A  young  man  professed  to  get  religion 
there,  who  claimed  me  as  his  spiritual  father.  He 
was  very  zealous,  and  could  pray  well  from  the 
onset.  In  after  years  he  became  a  popular  minister 
in  the  South,  and  filled  some  important  stations. 
A  few  years  more,  we  heard  he  had  removed  to  the 
extreme  South,  and  had  backslidden  and  become  a 
gambler.  A  few  years  more,  and  he  turned  up  in 
Congress — still  an  orator.  One  of  his  opponents  in 
debate  threw  in  his  face  that  he  had  been  a  Meth- 
odist preacher.  He  replied  that  in  the  days  of  his 
youth  and  indiscretion  he  had  taken  that  chute, 
but  it  was  irrelevant  to  throw  it  up  now.  When  I 
heard  this  I  trembled.  But  on  a  subsequent  occa- 
sion, when  an  infidel  member  of  Congress  was  de- 
claiming against  chaplains  and  Christianity,  he 
stood  up  in  his  place  —  as  if  the  latent  embers  of 
grace  were  stirred  within — and  gave  him  a  scorch- 
ing rebuke,  and  made  a  masterly  defense  of  Chris- 
tianity. Then  I  hoped.  But  where  he  is  now, 
whether  in  time  or  eternity,  we  know  not.  If  in 
time,  may  he  be  reclaimed  from  his  wanderings, 
and  find  mercy  at  the  hand  of  the  Lord!  Some  of 
our  old  members  did  not  believe  in  him  at  the 


232  THE    CROSS. 

start,  because  he  prayed  with  his  eyes  open;  but  I 
told  them  not  to  stumble  at  this,  as  it  was  our  duty 
both  to  watch  and  pray. 

We  had  a  camp  meeting  soon  after  this — a  very 
singular  one.  As  I  was  riding  to  it,  a  gentleman 
overtook  me,  and  asked  where  I  was  from. 
"Wythe."  He  said  they  had  heard  strange  news 
from  "Wythe,  that  the  folks  had  permitted  a  Meth- 
odist preacher  to  live  among  them.  He  then  went 
on  to  recount  some  of  their  wicked  doings  in  former 
years,  and  how  a  gang  of  them  followed  a  Method- 
ist preacher  who  came  through  the  place,  and  forced 
him  to  dance  to  the  sound  of  a  fiddle.  On  subse- 
quent inquiry  this  was  found  to  be  true,  and  my 
old  infidel  friend  was  at  the  head  of  the  gang. 

We  had  only  two  or  three  sermons  on  the  camp- 
ground, when  there  came  on  a  rain  which  precluded 
all  public  exercises  ,to  the  close  of  the  meeting. 
There  were  only  eight  or  nine  tents.  Happily, 
some  of  them  were  very  large — and  we  betook  our- 
selves to  singing  and  praying.  The  fashionable 
people,  who  came  out  on  Saturday,  crowded  into 
the  tents  to  save  their  finery,  and  a  wonderful  time 
followed.  While  the  exercises  were  going  on,  they 
would  drop  like  shot  blackbirds,  tear  off  their  ruf- 
fles and  ornaments,  and  cry  for  mercy.  I  would 
look  on,  and  ask  myself  who  told  them  to  do  this. 
Nothing  had  been  said  about  dress;  and  some  of 
them  had  never  heard  the  Methodist  preachers  be- 
fore. It  was  the  Spirit  of  God  writing  on  their 


CAMP    MEETING.  233 

truly-awakened  hearts.  It  was  a  singular  scene  to 
see  converted  young  men  standing  up,  their  wet, 
torn  ruffles  flapping  in  the  wind,  while  with  all 
their  power  they  exhorted  their  companions  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come.  On  Monday  morning  the 
white  members  were  completely  exhausted.  The 
little  colored  camp  was  marched  up.  They  rushed 
into  the  battle  like  a  reserved  corps,  and  the  very 
heavens  resounded  with  prayer,  praise,  and  the 
shouts  of  regenerated  men  and  women.  The  gentle- 
man who  had  just  been  elected  as  their  representa- 
tive was  converted.  A  family  was  justified,  all  but 
one  son.  He  was  roused  up  from  the  mourners' 
bench  to  go  home  and  bring  the  horses.  He  did 
so — harnessed  them  up;  and,  returning  to  the  tent, 
flung  himself  on  his  knees,  and  never  rose  till  he 
stood  up  to  praise  God  for  his  redeeming  grace.  It 
was  said  that  more  than  one  hundred  were  con- 
verted on  the  ground.  And  how  many  more  after, 
who  can  tell?  As  we  rode  home,  shouting,  prayer, 
and  praise  seemed  to  ascend  from  almost  every 
farm-house  on  both  sides  of  the  road.  Taking  into 
consideration  the  number  of  people  assembled,  the 
paucity  of  the  means,  the  apparently-unfavorable 
weather,  and  other  circumstances,  I  hold  it  to  be 
the  greatest  camp  meeting  I  ever  attended — and  I 
have  been  at  many  truly  great. 

20 


234  THE    CROSS. 


XVIII. 
SETTLE   IN   XENIA-THE    MINISTRY. 

I  NOW  concluded  to  move  farther  west,  having 
Kentucky  principally  in  view.  I  procured  a  small 
wagon  and  two  horses,  and,  with  my  mother  and 
three  single  sisters,  took  up  my  pilgrimage.  For 
lack  of  experience,  we  were  nearly  a  month  in 
traveling  a  distance  we  ought  to  have  made  in  two 
weeks.  After  we  had  entered  Kentucky  we  came 
to  a  fork  in  the  road,  where  we  stopped  and  held  a 
council.  I  told  them  my  feelings  were  all  for  Ken- 
tucky; but  it  was  a  slave  State,  and,  as  we  would 
have  to  depend  on  our  own  resources,  we  might  be 
subject  to  occasional  mortifications;  whereas  Ohio 
was  a  free  State,  and  although  it  might  have  some 
disadvantages,  yet  I  believed  that,  in  the  long  run, 
it  would  be  more  suitable  to  us.  After  considerable 
deliberation,  we  took  the  direct  road  to  Cincinnati. 
Although  this  at  the  outset  had  not  been  contem- 
plated, yet  it  was  certainly  the  better  course.  We 
finally  settled  in  Xenia,  and  found  there  and  in  its 
vicinity  many  old  Virginians,  and  a  few  acquaint- 
ances. Here  I  opened  a  school,  and  when  it  in- 
creased considerably  my  mother  took  charge  of  the 


SETTLE    IN    XENIA.  235 

female    department.      She    was    well    qualified    to 
teach,  especially  in  arithmetic. 

While  in  Louisiana  I  trembled  at  the  intelligence 
of  the  people,  and  longed  for  "a  lodge  in  some  vast 
wilderness,"  where  my  talents,  slim  as  they  were, 
might  be  more  needed;  and  especially  where  I 
might  not  be  buried  by  superior  ministerial  lights. 
Vain  hope !  About  the  first  man  I  heard  preach 
was  Dr.  Taylor,  who  was  an  extra  minister.  He 
was  profoundly  doctrinal  and  argumentative.  He 
had,  however,  a  considerable  drawback.  He  had 
an  incurable  devotion  to  all  the  obsolete  words  of 
our  dictionary,  and  was  inclined  to  verbosity.  On 
one  occasion  he  changed  appointments  with  a  preacher 
in  an  obscure  region.  When  the  regular  preacher 
came  back,  the  people  told  him  that  they  hoped 
when  he  sent  another  man  in  his  place,  he  would 
send  one  who  could  preach  English,  not  Latin. 
After  I  had  entered  the  traveling  connection,  I 
came  on  a  bitter  cold  day  to  a  large  meeting-house. 
As  the  door  opened,  a  blast  struck  me  which  almost 
capsized  me.  Leaving  the  door  open,  and  advanc- 
ing, I  saw  a  large  brick  platform,  and  on  it  a  glow- 
ing charcoal  fire,  surrounded  by  a  large  congrega- 
tion. I  stopped  short,  and  as  the  people  had  never 
seen  me  before,  every  eye  was  fixed  upon  me. 
Stretching  forth  my  hand  toward  the  glowing  pile, 
"Brethren,  that  is  precisely  the  way  we  used  to 
kill  rats  on  board  our  ship.  When  we  had  got  into 
port  and  discharged  our  cargo,  we  filled  an  old  pot 


236  THE    CROSS. 

with  a  charcoal  fire,  placed  it  on  the  keelson,  bat- 
tened down  all  the  hatches  for  twenty -four  hours, 
and  when  we  would  open  them,  every  rat  in  the 
ship  would  be  lying  dead  about  the  pot.  Is  it 
possible  that  no  preacher  has  ever  told  you  of  the 
danger  of  sitting  over  such  a  fire?" 

One  brother  said,  "Uo  preacher  ever  said  any 
thing  about  our  fire  excepting  Dr.  Taylor.  He 
stood  over  it  once,  and  made  a  speech,  but  none  of 
us  could  understand  it.  I  only  remember  two 
words  of  it  which  he  often  repeated,  'hydrogen  and 
nitrogen;'  but  you  speak  plain,  and  say  it  will  kill 
rats,  and  we  '11  put  it  away.  Our  women  have 
often  fainted  when  we  had  large  congregations,  but 
we  never  blamed  the  fire." 

Nevertheless,  Dr.  Taylor  was  an  instructive 
preacher.  The  next  I  heard  was  John  Strange,  his 
colleague.  He  was  universally  popular,  even  at 
that  time.  When  the  quarterly  meeting  came  on, 
the  elder,  James  B.  Finley,  preached  in  his  most  suc- 
cessful style.  I  had  to  acknowledge  that  the  whole 
Virginia  Conference  at  that  time  had  no  three  men 
that  could  match  them. 

.  Brother  Sale  lived  in  the  neighborhood.  A  more 
pleasant  and  upright  man  I  never  knew.  He  was 
my  fast  friend,  and  I  enjoyed  his  counsel  and  ex- 
ample for  many  years.  He  was  remarkably  con- 
scientious. On  one  occasion,  he  related  that  before 
he  embraced  religion  he  was  in  company  with  two 
or  three  wild  young  men,  who  concluded  to  lash 


SETTLE    IN    XENIA.  237 

something  to  the  tail  of  an  old  horse,  belonging  to 
a  neighbor,  to  stir  up  a  little  fun.  He  did  not  ap- 
prove of  the  sport,  and  tried  to  prevent  it.  The 
horse  ran  off  in  a  terrible  fright,  and  was  killed. 
Although  he  had  no  hand  in  thus  depriving  a  poor 
man  of  his  horse,  yet  he  felt  somewhat  guilty  in 
keeping  the  secret.  But  after  he  obtained  mercy 
of  the  Lord,  in  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins,  he  re- 
turned to  the  place,  and  having  understood  of  the 
owner  the  full  value  of  his  horse,  acknowledged  the 
part  he  had  in  the  transaction,  and  paid  his  full 
share  of  the  assessment.  When  he  was  traveling 
out  westward  as  a  young  preacher,  he  was  under 
the  necessity  of  putting  up  at  a  tavern.  Every 
thing  around  him  appeared  so  irreligious,  that  he 
had  no  encouragement  to  speak  of  prayer — it  was 
only  a  tavern.  When  the  landlord  lighted  him  to 
bed,  he  asked  him  what  was  the  object  of  his  jour- 
ney. He  said  in  a  tremulous  voice,  "I  am  going 
out  to  preach  the  Gospel."  The  tavern-keeper  fast- 
ened his  piercing  eyes  upon  him,  and  said,  "Young 
man,  you  will  not  be  of  much  force.  The  preach- 
ers out  here  will  hold  family  prayer  if  they  are  in 
the  very  gates  of  hell."  He  said  he  never  neg- 
lected it  again.  There  was  considerable  controversy 
abroad  when  we  moved  to  Ohio.  Some  of  the 
young  preachers  were  riding  along  the  road  and 
telling  some  of  the  smart  and  pungent  turns  they 
had  taken  in  this  line;  brother  Sale  turned  in  his 
saddle  and  said,  "Boys,  I  want  you  to  take  one 


238  THE    CROSS. 

idea  along  with  you — you  can  catch  more  bees  with 
honey  than  you  can  with  vinegar."  This  word 
spoken  in  season  was  of  immense  importance  to 
myself. 

Dr.  Joshua  Martin,  of  Xenia,  proposed  to  me  to 
study  medicine;  at  the  same  time  offering  me  his 
office,  books,  and  instructions  gratuitously.  This 
offer  I  embraced,  and  spent  all  my  leisure  time  in 
reading  medical  works,  according  to  his  arrange- 
ment. After  I  was  employed  to  teach  a  Methodist 
school  in  Lebanon,  he  still  supplied  me  with  books 
and  periodical  instruction.  While  residing  in  Xenia, 
Bishop  M'Kendree  came  along  and  insisted  on  start- 
ing a  Sabbath  school  there.  At  that  time  there 
had  been  no  Sunday  school,  that  I  knew  of,  in 
Southern  Ohio,  outside  of  Cincinnati.  He  selected 
me  for  the -superintendent.  I  objected  on  the  score 
of  my  preaching  almost  every  Sabbath.  He  said 
this  could  be  done  in  the  afternoon;  and  even  if  I 
did  not  preach  so  often,  I  might,  in  the  long  run, 
do  more  good  with  the  school.  We  started  the 
school;  and  a  first-rate  school  it  was.  We  had 
about  one  hundred  and  eighty  scholars;  many  of 
the  children  coming  from  one  to  three  miles  around. 
Out  of  that  original  school  came  five  or  six  traveling 
ministers,  several  local  ministers  and  officials;  and, 
indeed,  there  were  very  few  of  those  scholars  that 
did  not  become  acceptable  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Now,  I  do  not,  reader,  monopo- 
lize the  praise  of  this  work;  for  we  had  pious  and 


SETTLE     IN     XENIA.  239 

efficient  teachers;  but  it  is  meet  to  show  that,  in 
entering  on  the  great  work,  I  did  "  in  the  morning 
sow  my  seed,"  and  "my  labor  is  with  my  God," 
and  if  he  approved  it,  the  "record  is  on  high." 

When  I  had  advanced  considerably  in  the  study 
of  medicine,  I  became  uneasy  about  what  would  be 
my  best  course.  The  first  inquiry  was,  can  a  man 
be  an  efficient  preacher,  and  at  the  same  time  attend 
to  the  duties  of  a  physician,  allowing  that  he  has 
only  a  tolerable  practice?  The  answer  was,  no. 
Can  he  be  a  useful  doctor,  and  attend  to  the  whole 
duty  of  a  minister?  No  more  than  a  man  can 
serve  two  masters.  And  the  decision  was  that  I 
should  prefer  the  most  important  call.  Another 
thing  that  lay  heavy  on  my  mind  was  this:  in  re- 
moving from  New  Orleans  I  had,  of  necessity,  to 
forego  many  special  privileges — regular  and  stated 
periods  of  devotion,  reading,  and  meditation;  this, 
with  continual  moving,  and  mixing  with  young 
company,  considerably  impaired  my  enjoyments  in 
religion.  Indeed,  although  I  have  not  set  out,  after 
the  example  of  Rousseau,  to  write  my  confessions, 
which  would  benefit  no  one,  yet  I  can  not,  on  the 
other  hand,  like  a  simple  biographer,  pass  by  my 
sins  altogether.  I  felt  that  I  was  going  back  con- 
siderably. Sometimes  I  thought  it  was  wrong  for 
me  to  profess  to  be  a  Christian  at  all;  then  I  would 
be  filled  with  bitter  contrition;  then  peace  and  com- 
fort would  return,  and  I  would  feel  the  Lord  had 
not  cast  me  off.  I  felt  that  I  dare  not  give  up  any 


240  THE    CROSS. 

of  my  duties — praying,  preaching,  and  meditating. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  my  own  safety  would  be  in 
letting  go  the  world  altogether,  and  giving  myself 
entirely  up  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  I  was 
recommended  to  the  Conference  and  received.  As 
far  as  the  itinerancy  is  concerned,  it  has  been  with 
me  a  standing  cross  for  nearly  forty  years.  It  was 
with  great  trepidation  that  I  first  mounted  into  the 
saddle  to  take  a  circuit.  I  went  to  sea  before  I  had 
learned  to  ride.  I  took  for  my  motto, 

"Some  trust  in  chariots  made  for  war, 

And  some  of  horses  make  their  boast; 
My  surest  expectations  are 
In  Thee,  the  Lord,  the  God  of  hosts!" 

Time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of  the  many  dangers 
and  frightful  hair-breadth  escapes  through  which  I 
passed — the  ground  and  lofty  tumblings  that  befell 
me.  But  the  Lord  was  very  gracious  to  me;  for  as 
often  as  my  honor  was  laid  low  in  the  dust  or  mud, 
horse  and  all,  I  always  rolled  "right  side  up." 
Again,  my  leaning  was  for  a  settled  ministry.  My 
experience  has  taught  me  that  the  longer  I  preach 
to  a  congregation  the  better  I  know  how  to  serve 
them.  And  I  never  enjoy  myself  better  than  when 
I  preach  two  new  sermons  every  Sabbath.  It  may 
be  asked,  then,  why  I  did  not  join  some  religious 
connection  where  a  settled  ministry  was  the  order. 
Such  a  proposal  was  made  to  me,  in  the  morning  of 
my  ministry,  by  an  authorized  agent.  But, 

First.    I   saw   no   Church    that  I   considered   so 


THE    MINISTEY.  241 

orthodox,  in  doctrine  and  practice,  as  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

Secondly.  I  believe  that  the  itinerancy — whether 
it  suited  me  best  or  not — was,  as  a  general  thing, 
the  best  plan  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 

Thirdly.  And  all-sufficient;  it  was  the  plan  laid 
down  by  our  Savior.  -He  sent  them  forth,  two  by 
two,  into  all  the  world. 

When  we  speak  of  the  itinerancy,  of  course  we 
mean  as  it  is  laid  in  the  Discipline,  without  guile 
and  without  partiality.  As  it  regards  any  devi- 
ation it  rests  on  broader  shoulders. 

I  went  forth  believing  I  was  called  to  the  work. 
As  the  call  to  the  ministry  is  regarded  by  some  as 
somewhat  mythical,  I  will  express  my  views  in  re- 
gard to  this  matter. 

We  believe  that  the  man  who  is  called  of  God  to 
preach  his  Word,  has  a  deep,  solemn,  and  abiding 
impression  resting  on  his  soul,  that  it  is  his  duty  to 
hold  forth  the  Word  of  life  to  his  fallen  race — that 
it  is  an  all-absorbing  impression,  strongly  checking 
all  his  natural  aspirations  after  wealth,  honor, 
worldly  settlement,  as  though  he  were  by  no  means 
his  own,  but  constantly  awaiting  the  disposition  of 
Almighty  God.  It  may  be  asked  here  if  a  man 
may  not  be  deceived  at  this  very  point — taking  the 
fervid  workings  of  his  own  fancy  for  a  Divine  call. 
Certainly  men  may  be  deceived.  We  have  seen 
some  who,  in  our  opinion,  were  deceived  in'  regard 
to  their  having  religion.  But  this  impression  is 


242  THE   CROSS. 

not  the  whole  call.  There  is  in  connection  a  provi- 
dential call.  The  God  of  grace  is  the  God  of  provi- 
dence. It  would  be  unreasonable  to  suppose  the 
Lord  would  call  a  man  by  his  grace,  and  forbid 
him  by  his  providence.  If  he  has  called  him  by  his 
Spirit,  he  will  assuredly  open  his  way.  Some  have 
insisted  they  are  divinely  called,  but  when  the 
matter  is  investigated  by  a  godly  Church,  that 
Church  kindly,  but  firmly,  dissents.  A  pious 
Church  is  a  good  judge.  The  ox  knoweth  his 
owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib,  and  true 
Christians  know  who  is  instrumental  in  feeding 
them  with  the  bread  of  life,  and  building  them  up. 
It  is  seldom  that  the  Church  is  mistaken.  They 
might  be  for  a  season,  but  if  the  individual  exer- 
cises Christian  charity  and  patience  the  Lord  will 
open  his  way,  if  he  is  called;  but  in  too  many 
cases  they  fly  off,  and  show  by  their  subsequent 
conduct  that  their  cases  are  doubtful.  Again,  one 
who  believes  he  is  called  should  examine  closely  his 
motives.  Particularly  should  he  search  his  own 
heart  in  regard  to  being  moved  by  pecuniary  con- 
siderations. This  inquest  with  some  is  not  elabo- 
rate, for  in  many  cases  it  will  be  found  that,  as  far 
as  money  is  concerned,  the  step  will  be  a  sacrifice. 
But  he  should  inquire  whether  he  is  moved  by  a 
love  of  fame,  also;  for  this  would  be  as  sinful  a 
motive  as  filthy  lucre.  And  when  he  feels  that  he 
is  clear  in  all  these  things,  and  the  ruling  impres- 
sion of  his  mind  is,  "For  Zion's  sake  I  will  not  rest, 


THE    MINISTRY.  243 

for  Jerusalem's  sake  I  will  not  hold  my  peace,  till 
her  righteousness  goes  forth  as  brightness,  and  her 
salvation  as  a  lamp  that  burneth;"  then,  we  think, 
he  has  a  comfortable  evidence  that  he  is  called  to 
the  work.  It  was  by  these  rules  that  I  judged  my 
own  case.  I  had  an  abiding  impression  that  it  was 
my  duty  to  preach. 


244  THE    CROSS. 


XIX. 
ITINERANT  LIFE-COLUMBUS  CIRCUIT. 

1824.  IN  entering  on  this,  my  first  circuit,  I 
had  two  especial  crosses  to  face : 

1.  My  colleague — Charles  Waddle — was,  without 
exception,  the  most  popular  preacher  in  the  Confer- 
ence.    I  felt  no  envy,  and  never  had  any,  in  regard 
to  any  colleague;  but  I  was  afraid  that  the  congre- 
gations were  so  accustomed  to  such  extra  preaching, 
that  my  efforts  might  not  be  as  serviceable  as  they 
might  be  under  other  circumstances.     I  was  soon 
relieved  of  this  fear  by  the  urbanity  and  fraternal 
attentions  of  the  whole  Church.     I  suppose  there 
never  was  a  society  of  Methodists,  in  Ohio,  more 
experienced,  more  pious,  more  forbearing  than  the 
Church  of  Columbus  in  that  day. 

2.  The  Legislature  was  much  in  my  way.    It  was 
indeed  a  venerable  body,  and  would  compare  favor- 
ably with  any  that  has  occupied  the  State-House 
since.     I  regarded  them  at  first  as   the  collected 
wisdom  of  the  State. 

But  I  soon  learned  that  they  were  mostly  men 
of  circumstances — that  intellectual  worth  was  sel- 
dom the  qualification  of  popularity.  Indeed,  that 


ITINERANT    LIFE.  245 

year  one  of  our  counties  had  sent  an  idiot,  by  way 
of  sport,  to  represent  them.  At  first  I  preached  to 
them,  with  fear  and  trembling;  but  before  I  was 
done  I  preached  at  them,  with  much  assurance.  I 
was  very  awkward  in  my  circuit  duties,  of  which  I 
might  give  one  instance :  After  preaching  at  Colum- 
bus, I  asked  some  member  if  he  could  tell  me  where 
my  next  appointment  was,  as  I  had  no  plan.  He 
said  the  Monday  appointment  was  at  Dublin;  that 
I  must  cross  over  to  Franklinton,  and  any  one 
would  put  me  in  the  road.  "All  right,"  I  thought, 
as  I  mounted  my  horse — "  a  chief  city  in  Ireland." 
As  soon  as  I  crossed  the  river,  I  asked  a  man  if  he 
could  tell  me  the  way  to  Belfast. 

"  Belfast  ?  No,  sir.  I  know  of  no  such  town  in 
these  regions." 

"Why,  it  is  not  more  than  seven  or  eight  miles 
from  this  place." 

"  Then  it  must  be  some  new  town." 

Then  I  inquired  of  another,  and  another,  and  so 
on.  Some  said  it  was  not  in  that  county;  some 
said  they  did  not  believe  there  was  such  a  place  in 
all  the  country.  Then  I  took  what  seemed  to  be 
the  most  probable  road,  thinking  that  the  nearer  I 
approached  the  place  the  better  the  people  would 
know  it.  Having  proceeded  about  eight  miles,  I 
again  inquired.  One  put  me  on  one  road,  and  one 
on  another;  but  nobody  knew  exactly  where  Belfast 
was.  It  was  all  surmise.  Thus  I  rode  all  day, 
and  got  into  a  forest,  where  I  expected  night  would 


246  THE    CROSS. 

overtake  me.  But  about  dusk  I  came  to  a  cabin, 
and  I  asked  if  I  could  stay  all  night. 

"You  have  come  to  preach  to  us  to-morrow." 

"Is  my  appointment  here,  to-morrow?" 

"It  is,  I  suppose." 

"Well,  do  tell  me  where  Belfast  is.  Is  it  the 
appointment  for  to-day?" 

"No.  If  they  have  not  altered  the  plan,  you 
should  have  preached  at  Dublin  to-day." 

"0  yes,  Dublin!  Dublin!  that's  it!" 

I  did  not  hear  the  last  of  this  for  twelve  months. 
I  was  now  like  a  young  bear — my  troubles  just 
beginning.  I  was  weighed  at  the  penitentiary,  and 
found  that  in  two  rounds  I  had  gained  thirteen 
pounds.  My  mare  also  took  advantage  of  the 
change,  and  began  to  cover  her  bones,  and  to  lay 
aside  her  meekness,  and  sometimes  get  into  awful 
frights.  We  hardly  know  whether  it  would  be 
more  proper  to  say  we  rode,  or  walked,  our  first 
circuit.  When  she  would  commence  a  great  fright, 
in  the  self-same  moment  I  would  step  on  the 
ground — for  I  yet  retained  my  sailor  agility — and 
then  it  would  take  all  my  strength  to  hold  her.  I 
would  then  take  her  by  the  bit,  and  walk  a  mile  or 
two,  till  she  got  calm.  The  brute  got  so  used  to 
this  that,  when  she  intended  to  take  a  fright,  she 
would  cock  one  ear  and  look  back  to  see  if  I  was 
getting  down.  Sometimes  I  would  not,  but  would 
pat  her  and  talk  to  her,  and  persuade  her  not  to 
scare  just  then.  This  was  a  source  of  much  morti- 


ITINERANT    LIFE.  247 

fication  to  me,  for  all  the  awkwardness  that  was 
ever  recorded  in  horse-jockey  lore  was  fastened  on 
me;  and  I  had  sometimes  to  hear  grave  ministers 
recounting  awful  mishaps  in  my  traveling  that  I 
had  never  heard  of  before.  For  this  reason  I  would 
run  great  risks  in  the  saddle  when  in  company. 
When  about  to  start,  one  day,  from  town,  in  the 
presence  of  several  who,  I  knew,  were  watching  me, 
I  thought  I  would  cut  something  extra,  so  as  to 
reduce  my  slanderers,  and  I  undertook  to  spring 
from  the  ground  into  my  saddle.  That  I  might  not 
come  short,  I  gathered  up  all  the  force  necessary — 
yea,  rather  more — for  I  landed  on  the  other  side  of 
my  nag,  to  the  great  amusement  of  my  brethren. 
For  about  forty  years  I  have  been  seeking  for  a 
perfect  horse,  but  have  never  found  him.  In  that 
time  I  have  owned  thirty-two — all  of  them  possess- 
ing some  good  qualities  and  many  bad  ones.  If  one 
did  not  scare,  he  would  stumble,  and  occasionally 
fall,  at  most  inauspicious  times  and  in  most  incon- 
venient places;  some  would  scare  and  fall,  too, 
simultaneously.  As  it  regarded  my  support,  I  had 
little  or  no  forethought  about  it.  This  was  not  my 
object.  The  school  which  I  taught  afforded  me 
almost  four  hundred  dollars  annually.  My  quarter- 
age, the  first  year,  was  from  eighty  to  ninety;  but 
it  was  the  most  beautiful  money  I  had  ever 
received;  it  looked  pure  and  holy — the  wages  of 
the  Lord. 

But   although   quarterage  —  if  the    term   is   not 


248  THE    CROSS. 

obsolete — never  troubled  me  much  on  my  own  ac- 
count, yet  it  troubled  me  greatly  in  connection 
with  others.  I  found  scores  of  Methodists  who 
bore  without  murmuring  the  whole  pecuniary 
weight  of  their  circuits,  paying  regularly  the  fare 
of  hundreds  toward  Mount  Zion.  I  say  toward. 
Men  who  would  indignantly  forbid  their  neighbors 
to  pay  their  fare  to  Cincinnati,  would  quietly  sub- 
mit to  their  paying  their  expenses  all  the  way  to 
heaven.  Now,  the  difficulty  with  me  was  to  have 
any  confidence  in  their  profession.  "But  could  you 
not  quietly  pass  them  by?"  No,  I  had  to  meet 
them  in  the  classes,  and  to  listen  to  their  thunder 
in  rooms  they  had  not  warmed  any  farther  than 
the  animal  heat  of  their  own  bodies  extended,  and 
by  lamps  that  they  had  never  oiled,  and  to  exhort 
them  with  words  which  were  without  money  and 
without  price — they  had  a  religion  which  cost  them 
nothing,  and,  as  Dr.  Clarke  says,  was  good  for 
nothing.  These  observations  do  not  apply  particu- 
larly to  my  first  circuit.  I  only  throw  them  in  as 
preliminary  to  the  long  conflict.  The  Columbians 
did  well  in  that  generation.  On  the  circuit  my 
saddle-bags  were  stuffed  with  socks,  gloves,  and 
other  necessaries,  and  all  these  were  pure  demon- 
strations of  friendship,  inasmuch  as  I  was  pretty 
well  rigged  from  the  beginning. 

In  that  day  we  had  no  protracted  meetings.  The 
term  was  not  then  coined  even  among  the  Presby- 
terians, where  it  originated.  We  made,  however,  a 


ITINERANT    LIFE.  249 

steady  draw  on  sinners  through  the  year — Winter 
and  Summer.  Faith  came  by  hearing,  and  hearing 
by  the  preaching  of  the  Word.  Persons  would  get 
impressed  under  our  ministry,  and  having  to  preach 
again  in  the  afternoon  or  next  day,  we  would  leave; 
but  the  local  preachers  and  leaders  would  get  up 
neighborhood  meetings,  and  the  convicted  would 
find  relief  in  the  ordinary  means  of  grace.  When 
the  preacher  would  come  round,  he  would  take  in 
two  or  three,  sometimes  as  many  as  five  or  ten  at 
the  different  appointments.  These  coming  in  grad- 
ually and  understandingly,  and  being  consigned  to 
large  classes,  were  cared  for,  and  they  generally 
persevered. 

Having  now  retired  from  charge,  I  feel  it  to  be  a 
duty,  which  I  can  not  neglect,  to  protest  solemnly 
against  the  practice  into  which  we  have  fallen  in 
this  day.  Our  people,  generally,  do  not  look  to  the 
ordinary  means  which  God  has  established  in  his 
Word.  It  would  be  wonderful  now  for  a  soul  to  be 
converted  in  a  prayer  meeting.  Our  faith  and  hope 
stretch  forward  to  the  protracted  meeting.  The 
people  and  sometimes  the  minister  pray  mightily 
for  God  to  meet  them  at  the  approaching  big  meet- 
ing. Speak  to  sinners  about  seeking  religion,  and 
they  will  say,  "We  have  been  thinking  about  it, 
and  we  have  concluded  to  try  when  that  big  meet- 
ing comes  off."  Some  will  say,  "But  we  take  in 
large  numbers  on  such  occasions."  True,  and  aside 
from  the  great  drought  and  apathy  which  intervenes 


250  THE    CROSS. 

through  the  whole  year,  it  might  seem  as  well  to 
take  them  in  at  one  sweep  as  to  be  receiving  them 
the  whole  year.  But  what  becomes  of  them?  In 
most  cases  the  majority  of  them  are  laid  aside  in 
twelve  months.  Some  have  been  converted  by  the 
Gospel,  but  many  have  been  pressed  into  the  Church 
by  exciting  circumstances,  youthful  sympathies,  and 
novel  measures  unknown  in  apostolic  times.  They 
have  not  embraced  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it.  The 
meeting  is  run  to  such  an  extreme,  that  when  the 
members  fall  back  on  their  ordinary  services,  they 
are  cold,  spiritless,  and  surfeited;  and  the  young 
members  begin  to  feel  the  reaction  too  strong  for 
them.  So  the  neighborhood  is  filled  with  people 
who  have  once  been  in  the  Church,  but  not  long 
enough  to  form  an  attachment  to  it,  and  it  is 
doubly  difficult  to  catch  them  again. 

This  is  not  all.  It  is  destroying  our  ministers. 
This  extraordinary  strain,  long  continued,  on  young 
preachers  produces  bronchitis  and  diseases  in  their 
vocal  organs,  so  that  we  can  find  very  few,  even 
among  those  on  probation,  who  are  not  as  shattered 
trumpets.  In  a  modern  protracted  meeting  they 
preach  and  exhort  day  and  night,  and  in  some 
places  they  have  to  pray,  sing,  and  shout,  and  do 
all,  till  the  members  begin  to  think  that  the  meet- 
ing has  been  protracted  to  that  point  that  it  is 
proper  for  them  to  dash  in;  custom  has  fixed  that 
point  on  the  third  or  fourth  week.  The  reader 
must  not  think  that  we  are  croaking  merely  against 


ITINERANT    LIFE.  251 

others.  "We  old  men  have  followed  suit  simply  be- 
cause we  know  that  unless  we  get  members  accord- 
ing to  this  programme,  we  can  not  get  them  at 
all — and  it  must  be  done  in  the  Winter,  too.  The 
old  preachers  have  this  advantage — and  we  call  on 
the  whole  Church  to  remark  it  by  audible  attention 
to  the  few  who  are  still  among  us — they  have  in 
their  youth,  by  constant  preaching,  acquired  a  vol- 
ume of  voice,  enlarging  with  their  growth,  that  can 
ring,  distinct  and  loud,  through  all  the  phases  of 
the  most  protracted  meeting,  as  far  as  the  natural 
infirmities  of  age  may  allow.  They  are  generally 
sound  in  their  throats. 

On  my  first  circuit,  in  addition  to  those  we  might 
receive  on  our  regular  rounds,  we  received  a  con- 
siderable number  at  two-days'  meetings.  Sometimes 
we  would  continue  these  meetings  at  the  expense 
of  our  rest  days,  or  by  procuring  ministerial  help. 
These  we  regarded  as  special  revivals.  We  had 
two  such  on  Columbus  circuit;  one  on  the  Scioto. 
Here  the  New  Lights  had  borne  sway  for  some 
time;  and  it  did  seem,  then,  as  if  they  would  take 
the  whole  community  into  the  river.  My  colleague 
preached  much  against  their  errors;  and  I  always 
felt  I  was  doing  the  Lord's  own  service  when 
preaching  against  Arianism.  Here  we  had  a  great 
work,  and  we  had  to  make  two  societies  along  the 
banks  of  the  Scioto.  The  New  Light  preacher's 
daughter  came  to  our  meetings,  and  joined  the 
Church.  One  of  his  people  went  to  his  house  to 


252  THE    CROSS. 

bear  the  intelligence  to  him.  He  bowed  his  head 
awhile,  and  lifted  it  \\p,  and  raised  his  eyes  to 
heaven,  and  said,  "Thy  will  be  done!" 

We  had  another  extraordinary  meeting  in  a  vil- 
lage at  one  extremity  of  the  circuit,  where  there 
was  a  small  Baptist  Church.  Seeing  that  the  grace 
of  God  was  with  us,  they  requested  to  unite  with 
us  in  the  work.  To  this  we  cordially  assented,  and 
we  had  a  powerful  revival.  As  the  Sabbath  drew 
nigh  we  proposed  a  love-feast;  and,  as  the  Baptists 
knew  nothing  about  that  means  of  grace,  we  invited 
them  all  to  come.  When  we  opened  the  meeting 
we  explained  its  character — how  that  the  eating  of 
bread  and  drinking  the  water  was  only  an  outward 
expression  of  our  Christian  friendship;  but  the  ex- 
change of  our  experience  and  Christian  communion 
was  the  spiritual  banquet  to  which  we  were  looking. 
We  then  told  the  Baptists  to  do  as  they  would  see 
us  do,  one  not  waiting  for  another.  As  soon  as  the 
Methodists  had  started  the  speaking  exercises,  the 
Baptist  minister  arose,  and  gave  a  clear  and  feeling 
account  of  his  experience — his  convictions,  his  con- 
flict, his  bright  conversion,  the  time  when  and  place 
where  he  received  the  remission  of  sins.  The  power 
of  God  seemed  to  fall  upon  the  assembly  like  a  sweep- 
ing shower.  Now  a  Methodist  would  rise — now  a 
Baptist;  and  a  stranger,  coming  in,  could  not  have 
known  who  was  a  Methodist  or  who  was  a  Baptist, 
for  we  all  felt  that  there  was  one  Lord,  one  faith, 
one  baptism — the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and 


ITINERANT    LIFE.  253 

of  fire.  When  the  meeting  was  about  to  close,  we 
hardly  knew  how  to  house  our  sheaves,  for  my  col- 
league was  away  at  General  Conference,  and  a  local 
preacher  and  myself  had  conducted  the  meeting. 
However,  with  the  consent  of  the  Baptist  minister, 
we  stated  that  it  was  always  our  custom,  when  we 
closed  a  large  meeting,  to  open  the  door  of  our 
Church  to  see  who  were  candidates  for  membership  ; 
but,  as  we  had  worked  together,  there  might  be 
some  who  might  wish  to  join  us,  and  there  might 
be  some  whose  leanings  and  associations  might  be 
for  the  Baptist  Church.  We  only  wanted  those — 
if  any — who  thought  they  could  serve  God  best  in 
the  Methodist  Church.  If  there  were  any  who 
thought  they  could  get  more  good  and  do  more 
good  in  the  Baptist  Church,  we  hoped  they  would 
not,  through  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  join  us — 
because  they  would  afterward  be  dissatisfied.  When 
we  opened  the  door,  nearly  the  whole  school  rushed 
into  our  net.  The  Churches  then  fell  back  to  their 
own  work — the  Baptists  crying  out,  "Water! 
water!"  and  the  Methodists,  "Fire!  fire!"  and  all 
the  young  converts,  "Glory!  glory!"  We  had, 
also,  a  very  good  work  in  Columbus;  and  it  was  a 
reviving  year  to  the  membership. 

There  was  a  blacksmith  in  the  city  who  was 
much"  given  to  intoxication.  His  story  was:  While 
sitting  in  his  shop,  about  twilight,  his  attention 
was  roused  by  an  extraordinary  light  springing  up 
suddenly  in  his  shop.  He  raised  his  eyes,  and  saw 


254  THE    CROSS. 

a  brilliant  personage  standing  before  him,  with  a 
look  of  anger,  mingled  with  compassion.  He  up- 
braided him  with  his  past  misconduct,  but  concluded 
by  telling  him  there  was  room  in  heaven  for  him  if 
he  would  reform.  He  was  found  stretched  on  the 
floor.  He  was  dreadfully  alarmed,  and  for  some 
time  was  afraid  to  be  alone.  He  went  further,  and 
quit  using  spirits  for  a  while;  he  went  further,  and 
came  once  to  our  church — but  hid  behind  the  door. 
We  did  not  believe  that  this  man  had  any  super- 
natural visitant;  but  all  the  people  in  the  place 
could  not  persuade  him  otherwise — and,  as  it 
regarded  him,  it  was  the  same  as  if  it  had  been 
real.  We  only  refer  to  it  as  a  remarkable  illustra- 
tion of  Abraham's  doctrine,  "Neither  would  they 
be  persuaded  if  one  should  arise  from  the  dead." 
The  same  blacksmith  had  a  very  amiable  daughter, 
who  attended  our  revival,  and  in  hearing  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  and  the  holy  evangelists,  was 
"persuaded"  and  powerfully  converted.  She  re- 
turned home,  threw  her  arms  around  her  father's 
neck,  and  told  him  what  great  things  the  Lord  had 
done  for  her.  He  wept,  and  commended  her  step, 
and  said  he  hoped  she  would  be  faithful,  for  there 
was  no  character  so  hateful  as  a  backslider.  He 
went  out,  resumed  his  dissipated  habits,  and  pressed 
on  with  renewed  thirst  the  downward  way  to  Vuin. 
The  close  of  the  Conference  year,  and  departure 
of  the  minister  to  a  new  field  of  labor,  presses  hard 
upon  the  feelings  of  the  preacher.  Nearly  forty 


ITINERANT    LIFE.  255 

years  of  travel  and  wandering  has  not  blunted  my 
sensibility  of  the  parting  pang.  It  is  made  endur- 
able only  by  the  solemn  promise  which  God  has 
given,  that  we  shall  be  gathered  together  again. 
We  have  sometimes  almost  envied  those  who  have 
administered  for  a  long  lifetime  to  the  same  con- 
gregation and  its  succession,  and  when  they  t  die 
leave  behind  a  Church  that  has  been  baptized  in 
infancy  by  their  own  hand;  but  when  we  remember 
how  many  Churches  we  have  been  allied  to,  and 
look  forward  to  the  day  when  they  shall  be  flying 
home  from  the  north  and  from  the  south,  from  the 
east  and  from  the  west,  to  take  their  places  in  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  while  we  cherish  the  hope  that 
the  acquaintances  we  have  made  on  earth  shall  be 
perpetuated  through  a  blissful  immortality,  we  say, 
it  is  enough.  The  children  of  God,  in  this  world, 
are  necessarily  a  scattered  people  in  many  re- 
spects. 

1.  They  are  scattered  by  the  distance  of  time. 
Abel,  that  eminent  servant  of  God,  stands  at  a 
great  distance,  in  point  of  time,  from  the  saints  of 
this  generation.  Still  there  is  a  gracious  alliance 
of  fellowship  binding  him  to  the  Church  now  mili- 
tant. We  realize  how  much  we  love  him,  when  we 
regard  him  in  comparison  with  that  wicked  one 
who  slew  him. 

When  we  come  down  to  the  history  of  the  apos- 
tles, the  distance  diminishes,  and  we  feel  a  more  in- 
timate union.  Again,  when  we  descend  to  those 


256  THE    CROSS. 

Christians  who  have  just  preceded  us,  the  tide  of 
Christian  sympathy  swells  delightfully,  and  we  run 
after  them  to  the  very  banks  of  the  river,  and 
stretch  out  our  hands  to  catch  their  falling  mantles, 
while  we  exclaim,  "The  chariots  of  Israel,  and  the 
horsemen  thereof!" 

•  -      "So  seemed  the  prophet,  when  to  mount  on  high, 
His  master  took  the  chariot  of  the  sky; 
The  fiery  pomp,  ascending,  left  his  view, 
The  prophet  gazed,  and  wished  to  follow  too." 

But  we  are  separated.     We  must  abide  the  times. 

2.  The  saints  of  God  are  separated  or  scattered 
by  geographical  lines.  Even  those  who  are  cotempo- 
rary  with  us,  are  not  all  present.  We  hear  of 
them,  we  read  of  them,  and  of  their  trials,  their 
labors,  their  success,  and  sometimes  we  may  corre- 
spond with  them;  and,  0,  how  we  long,  in  the  bow- 
els of  Christian  communion,  to  embrace  them,  to 
converse  with  them,  to  weep  with  them,  if  need  be ! 
0,  ye  ministers  and  children  of  our  God!  may  we 
not  flow  together,  and  break  bread,  and  drink  wine 
in  our  common  Father's  house?  Hush,  0,  my  soul, 
and  be  quiet!  Not  now.  Alas,  how  seldom  do  the 
children  of  God,  in  any  one  family,  gather  together ! 
I  look  back  to  the  days  of  childhood,  and  see 
myself  as  a  little  white-headed  boy — a  smiling  item 
in  a  wide  and  joyful  household.  I  comprehended 
that  Death  would  come,  sometimes,  like  a  sparrow 
lighting  on  an  ant-hill;  but  I  thought  his  visits 
might  be  far  between,  and  that  the  survivors  would 


ITINERANT    LIFE.  257 

close  up  the  chasms  from  time  to  time,  and  that 
even  when  the  last  fell,  one  social  graveyard  would 
hold  the  band.  But,  years  gone  by,  "that  once  fair 
spreading  family  is  dissolved;"  the  majority  have 
crossed  the  flood,  and  no  two  lie  beneath  the  same 
green  sod.  Never  more  shall  we  be  gathered  to- 
gether in  this  wayward  world. 

3.  The  saints  of  God  are  sometimes  scattered  here 
by  Church  polity.  We  do  not  all  subscribe  to  the 
same  ecclesiastical  government,  to  the  same  forms; 
but  this  is  nothing,  provided  we  are  not  cursed 
"with  a  want  of  love."  There  is  variety  in  the  -in- 
ner as  well  as  in  the  outer  man.  Still  this  separates. 
It  is  a  separation  of  convenience.  Indeed,  conven- 
ience sometimes  calls  for  the  separation  of  members 
of  the  same  denomination.  Can  all  the  Methodists, 
in  a  large  city,  meet  in  one  house?  Can  all  the 
Presbyterians  gather  themselves  together  under  one 
pastor?  Not  now,  my  beloved.  But  of  all  the 
saints  of  God,  who  sacrifice  on  earth,  none  are  more 
separated  than  the  Bethel  saints — the  true  saints  of 
God,  who  are  scattered  abroad  over  the  wide  seas, 
and  lakes,  and  rivers,  as  well  as  many  who  are  laid 
up  in  dry  dock,  and  others  who  are  water-logged  all 
along  the  coast  of  life,  scattered  and  peeled,  and  as 
Sterne  would  say,  ""and  that  to  the  quick." 

Some  of  these,  in  their  short  stay  on  land,  have 
made  their  confession  to  Almighty  God,  meekly  pre- 
senting a  crucified  Savior,  as  their  only  sacrifice, 

their  only  argument,   their  only   lamb.      God  has 

22 


258  THE    CEOSS. 

heard  in  heaven,  answered  on  earth,  and,  as  father 
Taylor  has  said,  "before  the  tears  of  penitence  have 
dried  on  their  cheeks,  they  have  weighed  anchor, 
and  are  again  facing  the  chilling  north-wester." 
By  and  by,  like  a  bird  of  passage,  alighting,  they 
drop  into  port,  hie  away  to  the  Bethel,  have  a  song 
and  a  prayer,  with  shipmates  dear,  break  bread  and 
drink  wine,  with  a  floating  brotherhood,  shake 
hands,  and  shout  and  sing, 

"  Farewell,  dear  friends,  time  rolls  along, 
We  have  no  home,  no  stay  with  you; 
We  hoist  our  sails,  and  travel  on, 
Till  we  a  fairer  world  do  view." 

What  would  the  Christian  sailors  be,  in  this  tem- 
pestuous world,  but  as  feathers  driven  to  and  fro, 
were  it  not  for  the  hope, 

"  The  blissful  hope ! 
The  hope  by  Jesus  given; 
The  hope,  when  days  and  years  are  passed, 
We  all  shall  meet  in  heaven?" 

But  there  is  a  day  of  gathering  coming.  We  are 
taught  that  a  period  is  coming,  when  the  God  of  all 
spirits  shall  arise  out  of  his  holy  place,  and  call 
upon  the  heavens  above,  and  the  earth  below,  and 
on  all  his  mighty  angels,  saying,  "Gather  together 
my  saints,  those  who  have  made  a  covenant  with 
me,  by  sacrifice!"  Alleluiah!  At  that  sound  all 
the  stays  and  stanchions,  and  props,  and  shores  of 
time  will  give  way,  the  ages  of  earth  will  sink 
into  the  bright  eternal  now,  and  martyred  Abel 


ITINERANT    LIFE.  259 

will    embrace    the    last    elect    of    Adam's    ruined 
family. 

"  Abraham  and  Isaac,  there, 
And  Jacob  shall  receive, 
The  followers  of  their  faith  and  prayer, 
Who  now  in  bodies  live." 

At  that  sound,  the  earth  with  all  its  wearisome 
miles,  and  deep  seas,  and  rivers,  and  mighty  mount- 
ains, will  shrivel  as  a  parchment-scroll,  and  all  the 
saints  of  the  Most  High  will  come  flocking  home 
from  the  north  and  the  south,  and  -the  east  and 
the  west,  and,  0,  what  a  gathering  of  the  waters! 
What  multitudes  will  flow  together  into  the  ever- 
lasting kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son !  At  that  sound, 
Church  polity  will  be  no  more  —  there  will  be  one 
fold,  one  shepherd,  one  temple;  "for  the  Lord  God 
Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple"  of  the  New 
Jerusalem,  and  the  will  of  God  will  be  the  will  of  his 
people,  from  thenceforth,  and  forever  more.  Come, 
shipmate,  will  you  set  sail  for  this  gathering  ?  Then 
bring  your  sacrifice.  Bring  one  that  God  will 
accept.  Bring  the  Lamb,  slain,  in  the  Divine  Mind, 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  Bring  Christ, 
for  him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed.  And  he  has 
said,  "This  is  my  beloved  son,  in  whom  /  am  well 
pleased."  Now  present  your  offering.  "Here,  Lord, 
am  I,  a  poor,  wretched  sinner,  lost,  undone;  but 
here  is  my  sacrifice,  my  ransom,  my  only  plea.  I 
have  sinned — 0,  how  grievously! — but  Christ  has 
died,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  to  bring  us  to  God." 


260  THE    CROSS. 

Pray  on,  wrestle  on,  believe  on,  penitent  soul,  and 
God  will  enter  into  an  everlasting  covenant  with 
you,  for  life  and  salvation,  for  time  and  for  eternity. 

Having  passed  the  morning  of  my  life  on  the 
seas  it  is  not  strange  that  the  habitudes  of  the  sail- 
or followed  me  into  the  ministry.  This  gave  rise 
to  many  questions,  and  I  could  not,  without  rude- 
ness, avoid  satisfying  the  social  firesides  by  relating 
some  things  which  had  fallen  under  my  observation 
in  my  ramblings  on  the  sea.  They  seemed  to  be  so 
deeply  interested  in  every  thing  of  a  nautical  na- 
ture, that  I  conceived  the  idea  of  explaining  several 
passages  in  the  Bible  where  marine  figures  are  very 
happily  used;  and  I  often  illustrated  them  by  what 
I  had  seen  and  experienced  on  land  and  flood.  I 
soon  discovered  that  this  kind  of  preaching  was 
effective;  but  it  was  not  long  before  I  found  it  was 
peculiarly  so  under  certain  circumstances.  When 
the  devotional  feeling  of  the  congregations  had 
taken  a  spring  tide,  and  the  soul  of  the  preacher 
in  unison,  then  have  we  received  extraordinary 
power,  and  the  revivals  have  been  mightily  ad- 
vanced. We  had  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  of 
the  utility  of  this  course,  of  which  we  may  give 
illustrations  hereafter. 

The  use  of  technical  language  in  discoursing  on 
religious  and  solemn  subjects,  by  no  means  implies 
an  absence  of  veneration  or  want  of  piety.  A  pre- 
siding elder,  who  is  now  in  heaven  we  trust,  once 
told  us  he  would  like  to  hear  us  preach  a  sea-ser- 


ITINEKANT    LIFE.  261 

mon  at  any  other  time  but  on  the  Sabbath.  This 
we  received,  but  did  not  resent,  as  an  insult,  be- 
cause it  implied  that  we  would  dare  speak,  as  a  min- 
ister of  God,  on  a  week-day,  what  would  be  unsuit- 
able to  the  Sabbath.  The  revelations  of  God  are 
clothed  in  language  suited  to  the  common  profes- 
sions in  life.  It  is  true  that  nautical  phrases  might 
appear  singular,  yea,  ridiculous  to  a  novice,  but  to 
the  sailor  they  are  natural,  indeed  oftentimes  un- 
avoidable. We  felt  a  religious  swell  in  our  soul,  a 
few  weeks  since,  when  a  gentleman  from  the  East 
was  telling  us  of  the  death  of  a  pious  sailor. 

A  religious  shipmate,  who  was  solicitous  of  his 
welfare,  approached  his  berth  and  said,  "It  seems, 
messmate,  that  your  glass  is  well-nigh  out;  we 
would  like  to  know  your  prospects — how  do  you 
head?" 

"0,  all  is  well — I  see  land  just  ahead." 
Some  hours  after,  when  his  eyes  were  almost  set 
in  death,  the  question  was  repeated,  when,  with  a 
smile  that  revealed  more  than  mortal  tongue  could 
utter,  he  whispered,  "Glory  be  to  God!  I  am  just 
doubling  the  cape!  Alleluiah!"  Was  there  any 
thing  irreverent  in  this?  No;  it  was  the  spontane- 
ous and,  therefore,  sincere  language  of  a  sanctified 
seaman.  And  if  our  vocabulary  should  extend  into 
eternity,  we  will  doubtless  hear  again  of  the  "stead- 
fast anchor,"  the  "blissful  haven,"  the  "sailor's 
home,"  in  a  world  of  light  and  glory,  "with  God 
eternally  shut  in." 


262  THE    CROSS. 

Some  people  think  it  is  all  right  to  preach  on  the 
parable  of  the  sower,  and  to  illustrate  the  sermon 
with  all  the  technical  phrases  of  a  farmer,  or  to 
preach  on  the  Christian  temple,  all  "fitly  framed 
together,"  using  the  square,  line,  and  plummet,  as 
a  skillful  carpenter,  or  on  the  "balm  of  Gilead," 
exhausting  all  the  pharmacology  of  materia  medica, 
but  it  is  awful  to  come  down  into  the  ship,  and 
"sit  in  the  sea,"  and  preach  to  those  on  the  land, 
as  our  Savior  unquestionably  did. 

We  are  not  among  the  number  of  those  who  con- 
tend that  sincerity  will  save  a  man.  God  has  his 
ordained  plan  of  salvation.  But  we  are  willing  to 
admit  that  sincerity  is  a  very  necessary  ingredient 
in  that  peculiar  frame  of  mind  which  prepares  the 
sinner  to  receive  with  meekness  the  ingrafted  Word 
that  is  able  to  save. 

It  was  sincerity  that  nerved  the  arm  of  Saul  of 
Tarsus,  when  he  was  laying  waste  the  Church  of 
Christ,  but  it  was  a  sincerity  powerless  to  save. 

A  gentleman  went  on  board  a  ship  to  invite  the 
crew  to  a  temperance  lecture,  which  was  to  be  de- 
livered in  the  evening.  The  men  with  one  accord 
began  to  make  excuses.  At  last  they  agreed  if  one 
of  the  crew,  pointing  him  out  to  the  gentleman, 
would  go,  they  all  would.  This  sailor  was  the 
bully  of  the  sl^ip,  the  ringleader  in  all  mischief,  and 
they  had  no  idea  that  he  could  be  towed  into  a 
temperance  meeting.  He  was  kindly  approached, 
and  by  one  of  those  eccentric  whims  often  found  in 


ITINERANT    LIFE.  263 

man,  lie  declared  solemnly  that  he  would  be  on 
hand.  In  the  evening  the  crew  refused  to  go,  but 
steady  to  his  purpose  he  went  alone.  It  happened 
that  a  pious  lady  presented  him  a  New  Testament, 
which  he  thankfully  received.  When  he  returned 
on  board  his  shipmates  asked  him  what  he  had  got 
by  going  to  the  temperance  meeting. 

"I  got  that,"  said  he,  holding  up  his  book. 

"And  what's  that?"  asked  some  of  the  crew. 

"Why,  it's  the  New  Testament." 

"It's  all  a  pack  of  lies,"  said  one. 

"Avast  heaving,  and  let  me  read  a  bit." 

He  then  solemnly  read  a  very  impressive  portion 
of  the  book,  and  when  he  had  finished,  he  flashed 
his  eyes  around  and  said, 

"  Do  ye  see,  if  any  man  now  says  that 's  '  a  pack 
of  lies/  I  'm  bound  to  thrash  him." 

As  many  as  three,  who  were  ambitious  of  a  fuss, 
at  once  exclaimed,  "It's  all  lies."  Whereupon  he 
unbuttoned  his  collar,  and  laid  the  whole  triumvir- 
ate on  their  beam  ends,  and  suffered  them  not  to 
rise  till  they  acknowledged  that  what  they  had 
heard  was  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth. 

Believing  himself  that  his  book  was  the  truth  of 
God,  he  continued  to  read  it,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  this  violent  defender  of  the  Word  of  God  was 
found  peaceably  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and 
clothed,  and  in  his  right  mind.  He  was  sincere  in 
fighting  for  the  truth,  but  God  had  mercy  upon 
him,  for  he  did  it  ignorantly — in  unbelief. 


264  THE    CROSS. 


XX. 

FIRST    CONFERENCE-BRUSH    CREEK 
CIRCUIT. 

ZANESVILLE  was  the  first  Conference  I  attended 
after  my  reception.  In  attending  the  camp  meet- 
ing, I  was  invited  by  the  preacher  in  charge  to 
preach  the  night  before  the  Conference  met.  I 
consented,  in  my  simplicity,  not  knowing  the 
preachers  would  come  in  till  the  morning  of  the 
Conference.  I  now  began  to  consider  what  I  should 
preach  about.  There  was  one  text  that  I  had  used 
just  before  I  left  my  circuit — somewhere  in  the 
woods — and  it  seemed  to  be  unusually  successful. 
That  was  fixed  upon.  When  we  got  into  the  meet- 
ing-house we  found  it  full,  and  about  one-third  were 
preachers.  The  bishops  were  in  the  altar,  and  a 
cold  shiver  ran  over  me.  This  was  somewhat 
allayed  by  my  good  friend,  James  B.  Finley,  taking 
his  seat  in  the  pulpit  to  follow  me.  My  text  was, 
"Therefore  he  said  unto  his  servants,  See,  Joab's 
field  is  near  mine,  and  he  hath  barley  there;  go 
and  set  it  on  fire.  And  Absalom's  servants  set  the 
field  on  fire."  In  the  first  place,  we  set  forth  the 
narrative,  paying  a  strong  compliment  to  Joab,  and 


FIEST    CONFERENCE.  265 

somewhat  disapproving  David's  constant  prejudice 
against  a  servant  so  brave,  so  devoted.  Then  we 
showed  that  people  in  modern  times  cultivated 
opinions  and  doxies  with  as  much  care  and  indus- 
try as  Joab  did  his  barley-field — to  instance: 

1.  The    barley-field    of   Arianism.     But    God  in 
great  mercy  sent  his  servants  to  set  that  notion  on 
fire.     And  then  how  we  did  it.     Then  they  would 
come  to  God  to  inquire. 

2.  The  great  barley-field  of  Calvinism.     It  was 
our  duty  to  set  that  on  fire.     We  here  stated  how 
we  had  heard  some,  in  our  class  meetings  and  love- 
feasts,  tell  how  they  were  once  devoted  to  this  ism, 
and  how  the  preachers  set  all  their  bigotry  on  fire, 
and  drove  them  to  God. 

3.  The  barley-field  of  Universalism.     This  we  set 
on  fire;  and,  in  connection  with  it,  the  field  of  infi- 
delity. 

4.  Idolatrous  barley-fields.     Here  we  showed  how 
parents  would  sometimes  love  their  children  with 
undue  affection,  and  how  God  would  send  his  angels 
to  take  them  away;   how  merchants  would  become 
too   much    engrossed  in   commerce,   and  the    Lord 
would  set  their  ships   on   fire,  or  sink  them;    how 
strongly  sinners  were  wedded  to  their  sins;   but  in 
all  these  cases  God — not  in  wrath,  but  in  mercy — 
sent  his  servants  to  set  their  fields  on  fire,  as  a 
means  of  their  seeing  the  reconciled  face  of  their 
father,  as  Absalom  did.     We  had   hardly  got  half- 
way through,  when  we  felt  the  pulpit  waving  and 

23 


266  THE    CEOSS. 

shaking  as  if  we  had  been  at  the  royal-masthead, 
and,  casting  a  glance  behind,  saw  brother  Finley 
with  his  head  down  between  his  knees,  and  his 
sides  rising  and  falling  like  a  blacksmith's  bellows. 
This  damped  my  ardor  a  little;  but  I  made  out  my 
points.  Still  there  were  too  many  Joabs  there  of 
different  denominations,  and  too  many  of  Absalom's 
servants — too  heavy  a  press  of  black  cloth.  So  I 
sat  down  considerably  mortified,  and  determined  to 
hang  up  that  text,  with  all  its  appurtenances,  like 
a  ham  of  venison  to  dry.  When  meeting  was  over, 
brother  Finley  said,  "Brother  L.,  you  have  been 
six  months  making  that  sermon."  But  I  assured 
him  I  had  never  preached  on  the  text  but  a  week 
before.  We  record  this  as  an  error,  hoping  all 
young  preachers  may  take  warning,  and  not  under- 
take singular  texts,  or  hastily  believe  that  they 
were  originally  intended  to  apply  to  things  spirit- 
ual. Were  I  a  bishop,  I  would  embrace  this  advice 
in  every  charge:  "Let  your  text  be  as  plain  as, 
'Eepent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand.'" 

In  that  Conference  I  saw  a  man  who  seemed  to 
be  a  pillar,  and  who  delivered  several  speeches.  I 
asked  brother  Sale  who  he  was.  He  told  me,  and 
said, 

"He  is  one  of  our  great  men." 
"Yes,"  said  I,  "but  he  is  not  religious." 
"0,  brother  L.,  you    must  not  talk  so.     What 
evidence  have  you  got  that  he  is  not  religious?" 


FIRST    CONFERENCE.  267 

"None;  only  I  feel  that  he  is  not  sincere." 
Here  brother  Sale,  with  pleasant  smiles,  gave  me 
a  lecture,  showing  that  preachers  would  often  be 
obliged  to  deal  with  men  according  to  their  pro- 
fession in  the  Church,  although  their  own  minds 
are  not  clear  in  their  characters.  Still  the  observ- 
ation seemed  to  strike  him,  coming  as  it  did  from 
one  who  was  an  entire  stranger  to  the  man;  and  I 
believe  he  thought  I  had  not  come  far  short  of 
striking  the  nail  on  the  head.  Before  two  years 
had  passed,  the  subject  of  our  conversation  sud- 
denly turned  his  back  on  religion,  and  gave  ample 
evidence  of  previous  unsoundness. 

While  speaking  on  the  subject  of  Conference  I 
will  say,  that  many  at  this  time  think  that  the 
young  men  take  too  much  on  themselves  in  debate. 
This  is  a  consequential  reaction;  about  the  time 
my  class,  and,  indeed,  several  preceding  classes 
came  on  the  roll,  the  Conference  was  oppressed  by 
a  strong  seniority.  Although  these  classes  embrace 
some  of  our  strong  preachers,  yet  there  is  not  to  be 
found  a  Conference-speaker  among  them.  There 
were  a  number  of  old  men  in  the  Conference — pious 
and  wise,  and  very  able  to  do  the  business  of  the 
body.  When  a  young  man — as  they  would  call 
him,  though  stiffly  bearded — would  rise  up  to  speak, 
some  of  them  would  roll  something  in  his  way — 
some  parliamentary  omission  or  something  else.  I 
remember  one  saying,  "Mr.  President,  I  think  it 
becomes  young  men  modestly  to  refrain  from  speak- 


268  THE    CROSS. 

ing  on  such  an  important  subject."  The  preachers 
would  talk  a  great  deal  about  this  in  the  lobby. 
One  would  say,  "Brethren,  who  will  know  how  to 
do  Conference  business  when  our  elder  brethren  are 
removed?  We  are  not  permitted  to  learn."  An- 
other would  say,  "Well,  they  will  go  to  heaven 
soon,  and  leave  you  the  field."  This  last  one, 
though  a  preacher,  was  not  a  prophet;  for  they 
lived  on  till  the  boys  became  gray-headed,  and 
had  by  reverential  silence  lost  the  animus  of  con- 
troversy. Then  the  later  classes — Young  Amer- 
ica— took  the  floor,  and  some  of  us  are  glad  they 
did;  because  they  tolerate  old  folks  rather  more 
than  old  folks  tolerated  them.  So,  all  can  have 
their  "say."  He  who  is  now  the  lion  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati Conference  floor,  had -many  a  hard  tack  to 
get  the  weather-gage  of  seniority,  and  he  could  not 
have  done  it  unless  the  Lord  had  laid  his  keel  and 
head  of  adamant.  Our  English  brethren  try  hard 
to  guard  their  seniority  to  the  present  day;  but, 
now  and  then,  an  adventurous  cutter  runs  the 
blockade.  We  believe  that  a  Conference  is  a  place 
where  "every  person  may  speak  freely  whatever  is 
in  his  heart."  If  this  is  heresy  let  us  be  tried  by 
the  Discipline. 

Some  might  say,  "Well,  the  young  men  wanted 
to  make  showy  speeches,  and  so  become  popular." 
This  was  not  always  the  case.  We  sometimes  saw 
the  very  gist  of  the  question — the  mystery  hidden 
from  the  beginning  of  the  argument  in  the  heat  of 


BRUSH    CHEEK.  269 

debate,  and  could  have  placed  it  in  lucid  position, 
but  our  "lot  forbade."  It  would  have  required  an 
effort  beyond  the  power  of  modest  clay,  even  to  get 
the  floor;  an  effort  that  would  have  knocked  all  the 
wind  out  of  our  sails. 

One  thing  more  in  regard  to  Conferences,  and 
that  is  the  practice  of  making  the  question  of  ap- 
pointments the  last  question,  contrary  to  the  Disci- 
pline; or,  in  other  words,  making  it  the  question 
after  Conference  has  been  closed  with  singing  and 
prayer,  and  leaving  some  ministers  ignorant  of 
their  destination  till  read  out  publicly.  A  minister 
who  can  bear  this  without  extreme  laceration  of 
feeling  is  unworthy  to  bear  the  vessels  of  the  Lord. 
It  is  also  a  very  impolitic  course.  An  appointment 
which  under  some  circumstances,  might  be  almost 
ruinous  to  one,  might,  under  other  circumstances, 
be  very  acceptable  to  another. 

BRUSH    CREEK. 

1825.  The  next  circuit  to  which  I  was  appointed 
was  Brush  Creek.  My  colleague  was  William  Sim- 
mons. We  were  both  young  men,  and  had  a  very 
agreeable  year.  This  circuit,  in  some  of  its  appoint- 
ments, was  considerably  tainted  with  witchcraft  and 
conjuration.  In  working  on  the  camp-ground,  I 
was  telling  a  local  preacher  of  some  standing  how 
I  had  just  lost  a  horse.  He  expressed  much  regret 
that  he  had  not  heard  of  the  hurt  of  the  animal  in 
time,  as  he  could  have  most  certainly  saved  his  life. 


270  THE    CROSS. 

He  spoke  so  confidently  that  it  struck  me  that  the 
receipt  might  serve  me  on  some  future  emergency. 
But  I  was  astonished  when  he  unfolded  the  course 
of  conjuration  through  which  he  would  have  cured 
my  horse.  When  he  had  got  through  I  laughed. 
This  horrified  him,  and  he  denounced  me  on  the 
spot  as  an  infidel.  We  had  a  very  interesting  trial 
founded  on  witchcraft  at  one  point  of  the  circuit. 
There  was  a  very  amiable  widow  and  her  daughters 
living  in  the  neighborhood,  who  were  reported  as 
witches  by  a  member  of  the  Church.  It  was  some 
time  before  the  slander  reached  their  ears.  They 
had  shown  many  acts  of  kindness  toward  the  afflict- 
ed member  who  had  for  a  long  time  suspected  them. 
As  he  was  poor  and  not  able  to  work  much,  the 
widow  carried  to.  his  family  a  large  package  of 
sugar.  She  had  hardly  got  out  of  the  gate  before 
he  threw  the  sugar  on  the  fire,  and  observed  to 
some  of  the  neighbors  present,  that  the  witch  could 
not  come  over  him  in  that  way.  When  the  widow 
heard  the  report  she  was  greatly  afflicted,  and  was 
advised  by  her  friends  to  bring  the  slanderer  before 
the  Church.  At  the  trial  there  was  abundant  tes- 
timony that  the  slander  had  been  widely  spread 
through  the  country.  When  the  defendant  under- 
took to  prove  the  malpractices  of  the  lady,  it 
became  a  question  with  the  committee  whether 
such  an  attempt  might  be  suffered  in  such  an  age 
of  light;  but  one  of  the  committee,  who  was  a  little 
tainted  with  the  belief  of  witchcraft  himself,  insisted 


•  BRUSH    CKEEK.  271 

on  hearing  the  defense.  The  most  of  the  testimony 
was  what  we  call  "hearsay"  Still  the  preacher, 
like  a  good  fisherman,  slacked  off  the  line  for  a 
season,  and  the  auditors  were  astounded  at  the 
romance.  A  German  doctor,  somewhere  in  the 
woods,  had  averred  that  the  witch  had  several 
times  dragged  him  from  his  bed,  at  midnight,  and 
had  sent  him  up  among  the  rocky  branches  of  the 
hills  and  dales,  in  search  of  hens'  nests.  Another 
had  said,  not  having  heard  his  cow-bell  in  the  even- 
ing, he  had  walked  over  all  the  forest  seeking  her; 
but  when  he  got  back  in  sight  of  his  house,  there 
was  the  cow,  and  the  said  woman  was  on  her  back, 
holding  the  clapper  of  the  bell.  The  defense  was 
going  on  for  quantity,  when  the  member  of  the  com- 
mittee, for  whose  sake  it  was  allowed,  looked  at  his 
peers,  and  said,  "Must  we  sit  here  listening  to  such 
abominable  stuff?  I  'm  satisfied." 

He  was  expelled.  When  I  came  round  to  my 
appointment  the  expelled  man  took  me  to  one  side, 
and  said, 

"I  am  now  put  out 'of  the  Church,  and  do  not 
intend  to  make  any  fuss;  but  I  will  ask  one  little 
favor  which  you  can  easily  grant,  that  is,  let  that 
sister,  that  has  prosecuted  me,  come  and  lay  her 
hand  upon  my  head  before  the  congregation,  and 
say,  'God  bless  you.'" 

"No,  sir." 

"Then  I  hope  before  twelve  months  have  rolled 
round,  you  yourself  will  become  bewitched." 


272  THE    CROSS.  , 

Whether  his  hope  ever  reached  its  fruition,  I  leave 
the  readers  to  judge.  It  would,  however,  be  doing 
nothing  more  than  justice  to  them  to  say  that,  before 
the  twelve  months  were  out,  I  got  married  to  a  pious 
young  lady,  that  I  considered  very  bewitching,  and 
she  has  been  my  mate  for  many  years  over  life's 
rough  sea,  and  has  endured  as  much  in  the  itiner- 
ancy as  any  other  woman.  This  same  witchcraft, 
under  the  dress  of  "spirit-rappings,"  has  molested 
some  of  our  charges  in  later  years. 

The  Minutes  give  us  this  year  an  increase  of 
ninety-five  members.  This  does  not  seem  to  fill  my 
recollection  of  things;  but  my  colleague  held  the 
reins  of  discipline  with  "a.  mild  but  firm  hand."  In 
those  days  members  could  not  stay  in  two  or  three 
years,  and  not  attend  class,  unless  prevented  by  in- 
firmities, or  wicked  parents  or  husbands. 

I  learned  a  good  deal  under  brother  Simmons,  in 
regard  to  Western  Methodism  and  administration;  and 
if  he  learned  any  good  from  me,  he  is  welcome  to  it. 

I  lacked,  especially,  one  thing,  the  talent  of  sing- 
ing. At  first  I  thought  I  would  at  any  moment 
dismount,  and  give  up  my  horse,  saddle,  and  bridle, 
for  the  ability  to  sing.  Then  again  I  have  thought 
I  was  so  fond  of  music,  that,  if  the  Lord  had  made 
me  a  singer,  I  would  have  broken  down  long  ago. 
I  can  join,  in  some  sort,  with  the  congregation;  but 
can  lead  in  only  one  tune.  If  you  ask,  reader,  what 
tune  is  that,  you  are  too  hard  for  me.  I  put  it 
forth  in  emergencies. 


SCIOTO.  273 

In  one  obscure  appointment,  on  a  new  circuit,  I 
found  no  one  to  start  the  tune.  I  invited  the 
brethren,  but  no  response.  I  turned  an  imploring 
look  to  the  sisters;  one  gave  a  woe-begone  shake  of 
the  head,  as  much  as  to  say,  vain  hope!  I  fell  on 
my  own  resource,  and  the  congregation  joined  in. 
After  the  meeting  was  over,  a  smiling  sister  came 
forward  and  said,  "Brother,  I  must  shake  hands 
with  you.  Thank  God !  the  Ohio  Conference  has 
sent  us  a  preacher  at  last  who  can  sing!"  I  sighed 
and  thought,  "Alas,  siater,  you  know  not  how 
slender  my  capital  is-." 

vioH  .  wi J 

SCIOTO. 

1826.  I  rode  this  circuit  in  connection  with 
brother  Absalom  Fox;  Russel  Bigelow  presiding 
elder.  We  had  a  good  year,  and  a  fine  revival 
about  the  Forge.  Several  young  married  people 
were  converted,  and  came  to  their  leader  to  inquire 
about  baptism.  This  struck  him  with  conviction  on 
that  subject.  He  had  been  about  thirty  years  in 
the  Church,  and  some  years  class-leader,  was  con- 
vinced that  he  ought  to  be  baptized,  but  had  all 
that  time  been  studying  about  the  mode.  The  con- 
verts wished  to  be  immersed.  We  gave  out  an  ap- 
pointment to  baptize  them.  When  the  hour  arrived, 
no  house  could  hold  the  multitude.  I  preached  on 
the  subject,  with  all  the  candidates  seated  before 
me.  The  view  held  out  was  the  difference  between 
baptism  and  the  different  modes  by  which  it  was 


274  THE    CROSS. 

exhibited;  that  the  mode  was  not  baptism;  it 
was  a  sacrament  not  more  holy  than  the  Lord's 
Supper.  This  was  administered  by  the  Churches  in 
different  modes;  but  the  Churches  did  not  unship 
each  other  on  this  account,  or  think  that  a  mode 
could  vitiate  the  ordinance.  Therefore,  we  as  min- 
isters were  willing  to  perform  the  service  in  that 
mode  which  would  be  most  agreeable  to  the  recip- 
ients. Still,  if  they  could  patiently  bear,  I  would 
give  my  own  understanding  of  the  subject.  Among 
other  good  things  which  had  been  mentioned,  it  was 
a  sign  or  representation  of  that  all-essential  baptism 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  How  was  this  performed? 
The  Scriptures  most  definitely  declare  by  affusion. 
The  grace  of  God  is  represented  as  coming  down  as 
the  early  and  the  latter  rain,  like  dew  on  the  mown 
grass.  On  the  day  of  Pentecost,  all  that  was  visible 
in  that  baptism  were  cloven  tongues  of  fire,  falling 
on  the  heads  of  the  disciples.  All  that  was  audible 
was  a  sound  from  heaven,  like  the  rushing  of  a 
mighty  wind.  Now,  when  the  Lord  commissioned 
the  apostles  to  put  the  sign  of  this  baptism  on  their 
converts,  whether  is  it  the  most  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  they  represented  it,  as  they  had  expe- 
rienced it  as  coming  down  from  heaven,  and  falling 
upon  their  heads,  or  that  in  exhibiting  it  they 
reversed  the  whole  order  of  things,  and  immersed 
the  subjects  beneath  the  water?  With  many  other 
words  did  we  reason  on  this  subject;  but  finally  ob- 
served we  had  fully  prepared  for  every  mode;  that 


SCIOTO. 

DO  mere  mode  could  destroy  the  validity  of  the  con- 
secration. Baptism  was  the  sincere  dedication  of 
the  soul  to  God  with  water.  The  matter  was  purely 
between  them  and  their  God;  and  if  the  Lord  saw 
they  were  sincere  he  would  accept  them. 

I  then  came  down,  and  asked  each  candidate  sep- 
arately, and  in  a  whisper,  What  mode?  To  my 
astonishment,  every  one  but  the  leader  said  he — or 
she,  as  the  case  was — would  be  fully  satisfied  with 
affusion  at  the  altar.  We  had  a  good  time,  and 
this  discharge  of  duty  gave  a  fresh  impulse  to  the 
work.  Some,  though,  were  almost,  not  quite,  dis- 
appointed; for  some  people,  who  seldom  go  to  meet- 
ing in  their  own  neighborhood,  will  walk  five  miles 
to  see  a  man  or  woman  put  under  the  water.  I 
said  not  quite.  The  leader  rose  up,  and  said  he  had 
long  studied  this  matter,  and  read  the  Bible,  and 
he  had  found  that  it  would  carry  him  into  the  water, 
but  no  further. 

"Philip,"  said  he,  "went  down  with  the  eunuch 
into  the  water;  but  .that  was  not  baptism,  for  it  is 
said  afterward,  'and  he  baptized  him;'  after  this 
they  came  up  '  out  of  the  water,'  but  this  was  no 
part  of  baptism.  The  baptism  was  between  their 
going  into  the  water  and  their  coming  out  of  the 
water.  So  I  wish  the  preacher  to  go  down  with 
me,  knee-deep — then  I  will  kneel  down,  and  he  will 
pour*  the  water  upon  my  head,  and  then  we  '11  come 
up  out  of  the  water."  The  whole  congregation 
marched  down  to  see  this  new  kind  of  baptism. 


276  THE    CEOSS. 

So  I  got  my  feet  wet  any  how.  But  all  the  while 
I  did  not  believe  that  Philip  and  the  eunuch  did 
more  than  to  go  to  a  certain  water — perhaps  a 
spring.  Even  the  Baptists  understand  the  word 
"into"  as  covering  no  more  in  many  places  in  the 
Bible  where  it  is  not  in  connection  with  baptism — 
then  it  means  "under" 

We  had  a  fine  camp  meeting  toward  the  close  of 
the  year.  As  it  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  Pres- 
byterian charge,  and  as  the  minister  had  to  be  ab- 
sent that  Sabbath,  he  recommended  his  congregation 
to  attend  the  camp  meeting.  Many  of  them  came. 
In  those  days,  we  thought  we  were  doing  a  small 
business  on  Sunday  morning  if  we  did  not  have  two 
or  three  sermons,  one  after  another.  Best  to  the 
ashes  of  that  habit!  After  the  eight-o'clock  and 
noon  services,  the  Presbyterians  retired  to  a  con- 
venient spot  to  take  their  lunch,  and  a  Methodist 
heard  something  like  the  following  dialogue: 

A.  Well,  brethren,  what  do  you  think  of  the  ser- 
mons? 

B.  Why,  my  opinion  is  they  were  truly  orthodox ; 
but  I  have  been  trying  to  reconcile  it  with  what  I 
have  been  taught  from  childhood,  and  that  is,  that 
the  Methodists  preached  salvation  by  works.     Have 
you  ever  heard  the  doctrines  of  grace  set  forth  in  a 
clearer  light? 

C.  Well,  they  did  at  first  preach   dead   wSrks; 
but  their  theology  is  improving.     In  fact,  they  have 
altered  their  Discipline.    I  have  been  informed  that 


SCIOTO.  277 

their  present  Discipline  is  widely  different  from  the 
original. 

D.  There  can  be  no  objection  to  the  -doctrine  we 
have  heard  this  day;   and  their  preaching  talents, 
on  an  average,  are  superior  to  those  of  our  minis- 
ters.    We   have  a  great  man  here  and  there,  but 
where  will  you  find  so  many  at  one  meeting? 

E.  "Well,  the  reason  is,  we  are  so  stingy  about 
theological  schools.     It  is  evident  to  every  observ- 
ing man  that  all  these  men  have  been  highly  edu- 
cated.    We  will  have   to  be  doing  in  the  way  of 
education,  or  we  will  certainly  be  left  behind. 

This  year  I  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Mitchell, 
daughter  of  George  and  Ann  Mitchell.  My  wife's 
father  was  a  local  minister  in  the  Methodist 
Church.  Mary  is  so  well  known,  and  so  well  be- 
loved by  all  the  sisterhood,  where  our  lot  has  been 
cast,  that  it  would  be  out  of  place  for  me  to  get  up 
any  eulogy.  It  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  with 
what  zeal  and  promptness  she  gave  in  her  testi- 
mony in  our  love-feasts  and  classes,  and  with  what 
fervor  and  modesty  she  labored  and  prayed  about 
the  mourners'  bench.  Her  father's  house  was  a 
preaching-place  in  Kentucky  for  many  years.  Un- 
der William  Holman  and  Samuel  West  a  great  revi- 
val broke  out  in  that  house,  and  all  the  family  that 
had  come  to  years  of  understanding  were  converted, 
with  about  one  hundred  of  the  neighbors.  Mary 
claims  that  brother  West  was  the  instrumentality 
of  her  conversion.  This  was  when  she  was  fifteen 


278  THE  CROSS. 

years  of  age.  The  day  that  this  revival  broke  out, 
Holman  said  he  prayed,  at  every  step  his  horse 
took,  all  the  way  to  his  appointment — and  prayed 
especially  for  the  family. 

Brother  Fox,  my  colleague,  was  an  old  acquaint- 
ance. When  I  was  teaching  school  in  Lebanon  he 
was  working  on  his  bench.  He  had  been  authorized 
to  preach,  but  through  diffidence  and  temptations 
he  had  almost  ceased  to  work  when  I  invited  him 
to  accompany  me  to  my  country  appointments.  Be- 
lieving he  was  of  the  pure  material,  I  exhorted  him 
not  to  become  faint,  but  to  double  his  diligence. 
He  soon  after  joined  the  Conference,  and  on  this  his 
first  year  I  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  his  partnership. 
He  became  one  of  our  most  useful  ministers,  and 
filled  several  important  appointments;  but  he  sank 
down  at  noon,  or  rather  rose  to  a  higher  orbit,  as 
we  trust,  to  shine  with  brighter  luster,  world  with- 
out end.  0,  Absalom,  Absalom,  my  friend  Absa- 
lom! Sweet  is  the  remembrance  of  thy  many 
virtues  and  labors. 

One  day,  while  riding  my  circuit  near  Chilli- 
cothe,  I  passed  a  distillery.  My  attention  was  ar- 
rested by  a  dog  raising  water  with  a  tread-wheel.  I 
paused  to  watch  his  maneuvers.  The  principal  came 
to  the  door,  and  viewing  me  as  a  greenhorn,  said, 

"Did  you  ever  see  the  like  before?" 

"No,  sir,  I  never  did;  but  I  think  it  very  appro- 
priate. It  always  struck  me  that  this  business  of 
yours  is  extremely  doggish." 


SCIOTO.  279 

His  face  gathered  up,  like  a  storm  off  Cape  Hat- 
teras.  I  touched  my  horse,  and  was  off. 

With  all  our  losses  by  removals  and  otherwise, 
we  had  an  increase  of  seventy-seven  members.  I 
can  not  remember  the  exact  number  we  took  in, 
but  there  was  one  singular  circumstance  connected. 
At  the  opening  of  the  year  we  ruled  lines  in  our 
memorandum  for  the  record  of  such  as  might  join. 
I  ruled  till  I  thought,  surely  if  all  these  lines  are 
filled  we  will  do  well;  so  I  ceased  ruling.  The  last 
member  I  took  in  filled  the  last  line.  Then  I 
thought  of  what  the  dying  prophet  told  the  king — 
if  he  had  smitten  five  or  six  times  with  his  arrows 
he  would  have  consumed  Syria. 

The  following  circumstance  transpired  on  this 
circuit.  A  well-bred  young  man,  apparently  under 
much  religious  concern,  united  himself  with  an  ex- 
cellent religious  society.  Although  he  had  formerly 
been  rather  wayward  and  inconstant  in  his  life,  yet 
by  his  steady  attendance  on  all  the  means  of  grace, 
and  the  rapid  improvement  which  he  seemed  to 
make  in  his  religious  course,  he  had  gained  largely 
on  the  affections  of  his  classmates;  and  some  of  the 
most  pious  and  discerning  had  already  begun  to 
regard  him  as  a  youth  of  some  promise.  In  the 
same  neighborhood  resided  a  comely  and,  in  many 
respects,  a  very  amiable  girl.  Heaven  had,  in 
mercy,  granted  her  one  of  the  greatest  of  all  earthly 
blessings,  a  pious  parentage.  But  she  was  of  an 
unusually-volatile  disposition,  and  passionately  fond 


280  TH.E    OB  OSS. 

of  the  world,   its  fashions  and  amusements.     Our 
young  'friend  saw  her,  loved  her,  and  finally  made 
proposals    of   marriage.      Eliza    acknowledged    that 
she  was  pleased  with  him.     "But,  William,"  said 
she,  "there  is  one  insuperable  barrier  to  our  union. 
You  profess  religion,  and  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt 
your  sincerity.      You  see  what  a  giddy,  vain,  and 
heedless  sinner  I  am.     What  domestic  happiness  do 
you  suppose  will  arise  from  our  marriage?     You, 
as  a  man  of  God,  would  feel  it  to  be  your  duty  to 
erect  a  family  altar;  I  am  illy  qualified  to  partici- 
pate   in    holy   exercises.     You    would    love    to    see 
every  thing  clothed  in  the  somber  aspect  of  Chris- 
tianity; I  might  love  to  shine  out  with  my  fashion- 
able   friends.      Consider    the    great    gulf  that    lies 
between  us.     It  is  true,  it  is  not  impassable.     But 
I  am  not  prepared  to  come  over  to  you,  at  present. 
It  remains  for  you  to   consider  whether  you   can 
forego  your  religious   associations   to  accommodate 
me."     William,  with  a  sorrowful  countenance  and 
heavy  sigh,   observed   that  he  would  consider  the 
matter.     A  few  days  after,  in  a  heartless  and  reluct- 
ant manner,  he  requested  the  leader  to  have   his 
name  erased  from  the  class-book  when  the  preacher 
came  round.     The  leader,  supposing  he  was  laboring 
under  some  cruel  temptation  of  the  enemy,  urged 
him  to  confide  in  his  integrity,  and  unbosom  all  his 
sorrows.     The    more    solicitous   the  leader  was    to 
dissuade  him  from  his  purpose,  the  more  earnestly 
he  pressed  his  suit.     The  preacher,  judging  from 


s  c  i  o  T  o .  281 

the  vehemency  of  his  manner,  that  all  was  not 
right,  and  that  it  might  be  more  creditable  to  the 
Church  to  let  him  go,  granted  his  request. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  stood  before  Eliza,  and 
renewed  his  suit.  She  observed, 

"You  are  aware  of  the  only  difficulty  that  lies  in 
the  way " 

Before  she  finished  the  sentence,  he  exclaimed, 
with  a  smile, 

"0,  that  is  removed — my  name  is  taken  from  the 
book — I  am  no  longer  a  Church  member." 

The  young  lady  fell  back  in  her  chair.  A  deadly 
paleness  overspread  her  face,  and  with  quivering  lips 
she  said, 

"I  will  never  consent  to  marry  you  while  the 
world  stands.  It  is  true  I  am  wild  and  irreligious; 
but  the  pious  instructions  of  my  parents,  the  relig- 
ious opportunities  which  I  have  had,  the  many 
heart-searching  sermons  which  I  have  heard,  have 
for  a  long  time  disturbed  my  peace,  and  have  de- 
termined me  not  to  choose  death.  In  view  of  my 
natural  proneness  to  ruin,  I  had  determined  to 
marry  none  but  a  man  who  would  help  me  to  save 
my  soul.  I  had  flattered  myself  that  you  were  such 
a  character,  but  thought  it  would  be  safe  to  try 
your  steadfastness.  "When  the  proposal  to  leave 
your  class  was  first  made,  if  you  had  rejected  it 
with  a  manly  and  holy  indignation,  you  would  have 
received  my  hand  on  the  spot.  When  you  promised 

to  consider  the  matter,  I  saw  an  indecision  of  char- 

24 


282  THE    CROSS. 

acter  that  made  me  tremble.  But  even  after  so 
many  days'  deliberation,  if  you  had  returned  and  said 
that  you  loved  Zion  above  your  chief  joy — above 
father  and  mother  and  wife  and  all,  then  I  could 
have  confided  my  life  in  your  hands.  But  the  die 
is  cast.  You  will  please  never  mention  the  subject 
again — forever. ' ' 

We  hope  the  reader  will  never  realize  the  anguish 
of  the  rejected  suitor.  The  Church  avoided  him  as 
an  insincere  and  dangerous  character.  The  world, 
more  cruel,^  reserved  him  as  a  standing  target  of 
ridicule.  Some  think  that  a  compromising  course, 
«in  religious  matters,  is  most  likely  to  win  over  their 
irreligious  friends  and  connections.  Hence  they 
have  relaxed  their  fervor  in  the  services  of  the 
sanctuary.  They  have  even  admitted  the  propriety 
of  things  which  were  doubtful,  and  shaped  their 
profession  too  much  in  conformity  with  the  views  of 
the  world.  This,  we  will  admit,  has  often  warded 
off  persecution,  and  has  sometimes  restored  peace  in 
families;  but  it  is  a  peace  that  impoverishes  piety, 
enervates  the  soul,  and  is  always  bought  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Cross  and  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ. 
We  doubt  whether  this  vacillating  policy  has  ever 
saved  a  soul.  Steadfastness  and  decision  of  faith 
have,  and  always  will,  where  salvation  is  possible. 


MIAMI    CIECUIT.  283 


XXI. 

MIAMI   AND    MAD    RIVER    CIRCUITS. 

WE  were  appointed  to  Miami  circuit,  with  An- 
drew M'Clain  in  charge,  and  John  Collins  presiding 
elder.     We  deem  it  unnecessary  to  give  the  bound- 
aries   of   every   circuit    and    the    history   of   every 
appointment.     This  would  fill  a  volume;   for  every* 
society  has  an  interesting  record,  and  the  remem- 
brance of  events  very  pleasant  to   its  own  circle. 
But,  as  an  example  of  the  circuits  of  the  time,  we 
will  say  that  this  circuit  had  twenty-eight  appoint- 
ments, and  the  reader  can  judge  of  the  rest  days, 
or  account,  if  he  please,  for  the  absence  of  bron- 
chitis.    The  circuit  approached  within  five  miles  of 
Lebanon,  embracing  Hamilton,  Blue  Bock,  Cheviot, 
neighborhood  of  Clevestown,  through  Cincinnati  to 
Fulton,  Columbia,  Helltown,  Carthage,  Madisonville, 
Indian  Hill,  and  Germantown,  within  two  miles  of 
Milford,  with  minor  intervening  places.    The  ground 
now  comprises  seven  stations,  and  five  circuits,  and 
part  of  two  districts.     This  was,  in  that  day,  a  very 
religious  country.    People  would  come  from  all  parts 
to  our  quarterly  or  two-days'  meetings;  and  gener- 
ally they  would  not  come  in  vain,  but  carry  the 


284  THE    CROSS. 

hallowed  fire  to  their  homes  and  to  their  classes. 
We  had  not  been  settled  here  long,  before  the 
brethren  sent  to  us  a  wagon-load  of  provisions,  of 
divers  kinds,  from  Indian  Hill,  about  ten  miles 
distant. 

We  rode  this  circuit  again,  in  1845  and  1846. 
It  was  then  very  much  curtailed  in  extent.  I  was 
associated,  these  two  years,  with  J.  W.  Steele,  an- 
other noble-hearted  colleague  not  soon  to  be  forgot- 
ten ;  and  we  had  for  our  presiding  elder,  Zachariah 
Connell.  Again  I  was  returned  to  this  circuit,  in 
1858,  with  brother  Levi  White — William  Herr 
presiding  elder.  So  we  have  been  well  acquainted 
with  the  most  of  the  old  members  for  many  years, 
and  can  testify  that  some  of  the  excellent  of  the 
earth  are  found  among  them.  On  my  last  year 
there,  we  had  much  affliction  in  our  family,  and  my 
wife's  sister  died.  Dr.  John  Cox  attended  us  night 
and  day.  I  expected  the  bill  to  be  high — -justly 
so — and  would  have  met  it  cheerfully  if  it  had 
taken  my  horse;  but  he  generously  refused  any 
compensation.  I  feel  under  everlasting  obligations 
to  him.  In  my  travel  of  forty  years,  I  have  found 
the  doctors  uniformly  kind,  and  have  wondered 
that  the  preachers  do  not  make  inore  of  them  stew- 
ards. They  understand  our  frame.  On  one  circuit, 
where  a  doctor  might  have  brought  a  heavy  bill 
against  me,  he  was  urged  by  some  of  the  stewards 
to  do  so,  as  it  would  so  nicely  foot  the  quarterage, 
but  he  indignantly  rejected  the  proposal.  So  it  is; 


MAD    RIVER    CIRCUIT.  285 

there  are  some  stewards  who  do  n't  care  how  the 
minister  is  paid — whether  in  money,  or  pumpkins, 
or  calomel  and  jalap;  whereas,  if  they  were  of  the 
spirit  of  Christ,  they  would  pay  the  physician — 
inasmuch  as  physic  is  not  allowed  with  fuel  and 
table  expenses. 

MAD    RIVER    CIRCUIT. 

1828-29.  This  circuit  was  considered,  at.  this 
time,  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord  in  Ohio,  and 
Urbana  as  the  midst  of  the  garden,  where  waved 
the  Tree  of  Life.  Burroughs  Westlake  was  the 
preacher  in  charge.  He  was  a  good  preacher,  an 
honest  man,  and  guileless  almost  to  a  fault.  He  just 
spoke  what  he  thought  of  every  man;  but  he  spoke 
it  to  him  rather  than  to  another.  This,  of  course, 
frequently  gave  offense.  We  often  expostulated 
with  him,  arguing  that  it  was  not  necessary  that 
we  should  speak  out  all  our  mind,  and  that  there 
was  no  deceit  in  holding  back  what  might  raise  a 
squall. 

One  day,  after  a  tiresome  ride,  he  stopped  at  the 
house  of  a  prominent  member — not  on  the  Urbana 
circuit — and  the  brother  was  not  at  home,  but  the 
family  invited  him  in.  According  to  his  descrip- 
tion the  house  was  disgustingly  filthy,  and  the  floor 
fearfully  slippery.  He  withdrew  immediately,  and 
rode  on  to  the  next  house.  This  cottage  was  as 
clean  as  a  iiew  pin,  the  coverlets  like  driven  snow. 
Although  a  stranger,  he  was  warmly  solicited  to 


THE    CROSS. 

stay  all  night.  This  he  did,  although  the  inmates 
were  clothed  in  a  skin  not  the  color  of  his  own. 
The  brother  whose  house  he  had  left  had  him 
arraigned  for  quitting  his  house  so  abruptly  and 
lodging  with  a  negro  man.  He  insisted  that  the 
preacher  had  some  hidden  prejudice  against  him, 
and  he  had  a  right  to  demand  what  it  was  before 
the  quarterly  conference.  Westlake  arose  and  said, 
as  the  brother  demanded  of  him  the  reason  of  his 
conduct,  he  would,  with  Christian  candor,  give  it. 
He  then  went  on  to  describe  very  closely  the  filthy 
condition  of  the  brother's  house,  the  appearance  of 
his  wife  and  children,  the  unwholesome  odor  of  the 
atmosphere  around,  and  concluded  by  saying  he 
would  not  feel  easy  if  his  horse  had  to  pass  a  night 
under  the  brother's  roof.  True,  he  did  stop  with 
an  African  family,  but  they  were  distinguished  for 
their  Christian  cleanliness.  He  had  nothing  against 
the  brother,  as  he  was  an  entire  stranger.  The 
brother,  finding  he  had  nothing  criminal  against 
him,  as  he  supposed,  but  only  a  matter  of  taste, 
sat  quietly  down,  and  pushed  the  investigation  no 
further. 

At  one  of  his  appointments  there  was  a  member 
of  another  Church  who  always  staid  in  class  meet- 
ing, and  would  sometimes  speak  disrespectfully  of 
the  proceedings.  After  leading  class  one  day,  West- 
lake  observed  him,  and  said,  "Stranger,  you  are  at 
liberty  to  speak."  The  stranger  arose,  and  was 
eloquent  in  praise  of  the  means  of  grace,  and  told 


MAD    EIVER    CIRCUIT.  287 

how  he  enjoyed  the  privilege,  etc.,  and  sat  down. 
Burroughs  looked  on  him,  and  said,  "Brother,  we 
are  willing  that  you  should  call  occasionally,  and 
partake  of  our  sweetmeats  and  tidbits;  but  mind 
you,  we  do  not  want  you  to  take  up  your  lodging 
with  us,  unless  you  become  one  of  the  family." 
This  gave  everlasting  offense  to  many  of  our  old 
members. 

My  colleague  was  the  strongest  man  I  ever  knew 
in  a  running  conversational  argument,  and  he  was 
full  of  the  most  spicy  wit.  Late  one  night,  I  was 
lying  in  the  preachers'  tent,  at  a  camp  meeting, 
awaiting  sleep;  but  a  noisy,  verbose,  jolly,  and  irre- 
sponsible Universalist  was  seated  in  a  crowd  on  the 
camp-ground,  and  playing,  as  he  might  suppose,  the 
piano-forte  on  them  with  his  silvery  tongue.  Pres- 
ently I  heard  the  voice  of  Westlake  among  them, 
asking  him  some  very  simple  questions  in  the  tone 
and  manner  of  a  hopeless  greenhorn.  I  looked  out; 
there  he  was  seated  among  them,  so  disguised  that 
his  friends  could  not  know  him  except  by  his  voice. 
The  orator,  at  first,  was  very  gracious  in  instruct- 
ing his  unknown  disciple,  and  we  felt  impatient 
with  the  round-about  approaches  of  the  inquirer. 
At  last  the  teacher  began  to  ridicule  Solomon,  and 
made  many  vulgar  remarks  about  his  wives  and 
concubines.  Here  Westlake,  with  great  simplicity, 
said, 

"But  don't  you  think  Solomon  said  some  wise 
things?" 


THE    CROSS. 

"When?  I  want  to  know,  when?" 

"Why,  he  said,  'Though  thou  shouldst  bray  a 
fool  in  a  mortar,  among  wheat,  with  a  pestle,  yet 
will  not  his  foolishness  depart  from  him.' " 

Here  the  battle  commenced  amid  repeated  roars 
of  laughter.  The  Universalist  showed  considerable 
low  wit  for  a  while,  till  he  had  exhausted  the 
meager  dogmas  and  stereotyped  arguments  of  his 
profession.  Then  Westlake  played  upon  him,  cheered 
by  the  applause  of  the  surrounding  group,  which 
every  moment  became  larger  and  larger.  His  an- 
tagonist at  last  inquired  in  a  respectful  tone,  "Are 
you  not  a  Methodist  preacher?"  A  horse  on  the 
outskirts  was  heard  to  neigh  very  impressively,  and 
an  eloquent  voice  in  the  crowd  exclaimed,  "Yes, 
yes,  I  hear  you,  and  will  be  there  in  a  minute." 

Westlake  was  eccentric,  though  religiously  so. 
Sometimes  when  preaching  delightfully,  if  he  heard 
no  Amen!  it  all  went  for  little  with  him.  One 
time,  while  preaching  in  the  evening,  at  Urbana,  to 
a  large  congregation,  he  suddenly  stopped,  and  said, 
"Can  I  get  no  Amen?  I  would  give  a  fi'pennybit 
to  any  one  that  would  say  Amen !  You  do  n't  know 
how  it  would  help  me."  A  drunkard,  who  was 
rocking  to  and  fro  in  the  crowd,  cried  as  loud  as 
he  was  able,  "Amen,  and  Amen!"  The  preacher, 
making  no  question  of  the  author,  sprung  his  luff, 
and  had  a  good  time.  Early  the  next  morning  one 
of  those  who  are  accused  in  the  Bible  of  rising 
early,  appeared  at  the  parsonage,  and  told  my 


MAD    RIVEE    CIRCUIT.  289 

brother  that  he  was  the  man  who  helped  him  out 
of  his  scrape  last  night,  when  none  of  his  brethren 
would  give  him  a  lift,  and  he  called  for  his  fip. 

"What  do  you  want  with  it?" 

"  Why,  to  get  a  dram  this  morning  to  wash  down 
the  cobwebs,  to  be  sure." 

"  I  can't  give  you  money  to  buy  drams,  certainly." 

"Can  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  break  a  promise 
given  before  three  or  four  hundred  people?" 

Westlake  found  himself  outgeneraled,  and  had  to 
fork  over  to  feed  the  groggery.  He  had  reached  a 
knot  that  he  could  neither  loosen  nor  cut. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  first  year  I  strongly 
urged  my  colleague  to  let  me  take  up  a  collection 
for  the  Missionary  Society.  This  was  rather  a  new 
thing.  There  were  societies,  here  and  there,  who 
sent  up  contributions,  and  some  were  gathered  from 
individuals.  Westlake  was  at  first  opposed  to  this. 

"Why,  brother  L.,  this  will  prevent  our  pay. 
We  had  better  give  a  liberal  donation  ourselves; 
for  it  will  come  out  of  us." 

My  argument  was,  that  the  more  a  Christian 
gave  the  more  liberal  he  would  become.  Still  I 
felt  that  my  stand  was  somewhat  problematical. 
So  we  did  not  do  it.  At  the  end  of  the  year  we 
did  not  get  all  our  pay.  The  next  year  I  urged 
the  matter  so  as  to  get  his  consent.  What  was  the 
result?  The  Urbana  circuit  paid  Westlake  and  his 
children  and  myself  our  quarterage  and  table  ex- 
penses, and  bought  a  nice  parsonage,  and  gave  us 

29 


290  THE    CEOSS. 

fifty  dollars  missionary  money  to  carry  to  Confer- 
ence. When  we  made  the  report  there  was  silence 
in  Conference  for  the  space  of  some  seconds,  when 
our  elder,  brother  J.  B.  Finley,  arose  and  begged 
us  to  inform  the  Conference  how  we  got  so  much. 
Since  that  day  we  have  done  what  we  could  for  the 
Missionary  Society.  But  many  of  us  who  set  the 
ball  in  motion,  and  have  increased  its  impetus  ever 
since,  are  never  detailed  to  present  its  claims  at 
Conference.  It  is  a  subject  which  affords  a  fine 
opportunity  for  those  who  are  eloquent  of  speech. 
One  of  our  brethren  was  once  eulogizing  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise  and  the  itinerant  power  on  the 
Conference  floor,  and  presently  he  broke  out  in  the 
impassioned  quotation, 

,                     "Should  fate  command  me  to  the  farthest  verge 
Of  the  green  earth,  to " 

"Stop  there,  brother,"  said  a  preacher  from 
Michigan,  "we  want  just  such  men  as  you  in  our 
green  'verge.'  " 

This  cut  off  the  speech  at  once,  like  the  negro 
who  prayed  that  the  Lord  would  curtail  the  devil 
"smack  smoove."  The  brother  had  never  straddled 
a  pair  of  saddle-bags,  and,  perhaps,  never  intended 
to.  Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  we  are  hinting 
after  such  jobs  now.  The  time  has  gone  by,  and  if 
we  could  not  expatiate  on  this  theme  which  our 
soul  loved  in  the  ardor  and  prime  of  noon,  we  will 
hardly  dishonor  it  before  a  Conference  with  the 
snuff  of  our  eloquence. 


MAD    RIVER    CIRCUIT. 

This  year  we  attended  a  large  camp  meeting  on 
the  road  between  Urbana  and  Troy.  I  preached  on 
the  Sabbath,  before  a  crowded  congregation,  a  sea- 
sermon.  Toward  the  close  a  melting  influence 
descended  on  the  congregation.  Many  of  the 
members  were  walking  the  aisles,  shaking  hands,  and 
their  faces  seemed  to  shine,  while  shouts  and  rejoic- 
ing rolled  over  the  ground.  That  was  a  good  meet- 
ing throughout.  Some  years  after  this,  while  the 
Conference  was  sitting  in  Cincinnati,  my  landlady 
told  me  there  was  a  gentleman  in  the  parlor  wishing 
to  see  me.  When  I  went  in  I  saw  a  very  genteel 
and  intelligent  person,  who  said,  we  were  both 
strangers  to  each  other,  in  a  certain  sense,  but  he 
had  come  some  distance  principally  to  see  me.  He 
asked  if  I  did  not,  some  years  ago,  preach  at  a  camp 
meeting  near  Troy,  and  preach  from  a  certain  text. 
I  answered  in  the  affirmative.  "Well,"  said  he,  "I 
was  a  thoughtless,  irreligious  young  man,  making  a 
tour  through  Ohio,  and  that  camp  meeting  being 
near  my  road,  I  thought  I  would  stop  and  rest  a 
little  while;  so  I  tied  up.  I  seated  myself  in  the 
crowd.  Till  that  time  I  had  never  heard  preaching; 
that  is,  I  never  paid  enough  attention  to  a  discourse 
throughout  so  as  to  derive  any  benefit.  Some  of 
your  phraseology  being  singular,  fixed  my  attention 
till  you  had  finished,  when  I  pursued  my  journey, 
but  under  convictions  which  have  eventuated  in  my 
conversion,  and  I  have,  for  several  years,  been  a 
preacher  in  another  Conference.  I  wished  for  a  long 


292  THE    CROSS. 

time  to  know  who  the  minister  was  that  had  been 
instrumental  in  reaching  my  case.  Lately  I  saw  a 
preacher  whom  I  recognized  as  one  who  was  at  that 
camp  meeting,  and  asked  him  if  he  could  tell  me 
who  it  was  that  preached  that  sermon.  I  got  your 
name,  and  thought  it  was  my  duty  to  report  to 
you."  When  he  told  me  his  name,  I  recollected 
seeing  it  frequently  in  the  Advocate  in  connection 
with  good  works. 

When  he  had  left,  my  soul  was  overwhelmed  with 
gratitude  to  God.  It  is  said,  "he  who  turns  a  sin- 
ner [one  sinner]  from  the  error  of  his  way,  shall 
save  a  soul  from  death,  and  hide  a  multitude  of 
sins."  Then  I  thought,  "And  if  that  sinner  should 
become  a  minister,  and  save  others,  and  so  on  to 
the  end  of  time,  till  the  enlarging  circles  shall 
strike  the  shores  of  eternity,  who  can  tell  the 
eternal  consequences  of  a  word  spoken  in  season?" 
Then  I  thought  that  the  Savior  said  to  his  elated 
disciples,  "Rejoice  not  in  this,  that  the  devils  are 
subject  to  your  power;  but  rejoice  in  that  your 
names  are  written  in  the  book  of  life."  Yes,  our 
reward  is  pendent  on  that. 

"Lord,  what  are  all  my  sufferings  here, 

If  thou  but  count  me  meet 
With  that  enraptured  host  to  appear, 
And  worship  at  thy  feet!" 

May  the  Lord  save  that  brother,  whether  North  or 
South!  What  is  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  to  Al- 
mighty Power? 


MAD    RIVER    CIRCUIT.  293 

It  was  on  this  circuit  that  we  first  received  the 
outlines  of  the  rules  of  the  Kadical  Church,  drawn 
up  and  issued  by  the  collected  wisdom  of  that 
organization.  I  do  not  mean  all  the  wisdom,  for  we 
had  a  considerable  embodiment  of  it  in  the  person 
of  one  of  their  leading  agitators,  who  held  his  mem- 
bership on  our  circuit,  and  who  had  not  attended 
the  conclave.  This  was  brother  Joseph  Mitchell, 
commonly  called  "Yankee  Mitchell,"  not  out  of  dis- 
respect, but  to  distinguish  him  from  the  numerous 
family  of  Mitchells  then  ranging  our  camp.  He 
was  an  acute,  fluent  minister;  but  not  an  orator  in 
the  common  acceptation  of  the  word,  neither  did  he 
pretend  to  be.  But  all  that  Calvinist  or  Arminian 
knew  of  controversy's  vast  art,  was  to  this  Mitchell 
known.  In  his  youthful  days  he  was,  doubtless,  in- 
strumental in  turning  hundreds,  if  not  thousands, 
in  New  England,  to  the  doctrines  of  Methodism. 
He  was  terrible  too  on  baptism.  When  preaching 
controversy — and,  what  else  did  he  preach? — his 
delivery  was  as  rapid,  as  cutting,  as  interesting  as 
that  of  a  smart,  racy  old  woman  when  scolding. 
Every  body  who  held  to  the  truth  loved  to  hear 
him.  He  was  the  presiding  elder  of  Lorenzo  Dow 
at  his  debut.  Lorenzo,  every  now  and  then,  taken 
with  a  sudden  impression,  would  shoot  off  from  his 
circuit  like  a  wandering  star,  and  Mitchell  would 
have  to  push  after  him  and  bring  him  back  to  his 
moorings.  Lorenzo  would  cry  and  promise  to  do 
better,  but  complained  of  his  galling  harness.  Now, 


294  THE    CEOSS. 

whether  the  youth  had  caught  this  wandering  infec- 
tion from  his  elder,  or  the  elder  was  overpowered 
by  the  logic  of  his  pupil,  we  can  not  say;  but  cer- 
tain it  is  that  Mitchell  fell  into  the  same  cosmopo- 
litish  habits;  and  at  the  time  we  knew  him  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  making  an  annual  tour  of  all 
the  States,  if  not  the  Territories  also,  of  the  Union; 
any  how,  he  was  at  home  when  the  Eeformed  Dis- 
cipline appeared.  We  crowded  to  him  to  know 
what  he  thought  of  the  missive.  He  looked  it  over 
and  rubbed  his  eyes;  he  looked  it  over  again  and 
scratched  his  head,  and  then  exclaimed  something 
like  this,  "As  the  Lord  liveth!  I  could  go  to  sleep 
and  dream  a  better  discipline  than  this." 

About  this  time  the  ministers  of  that  connection 
were  making  heavy  efforts  on  our  circuit.  There 
was  one  place  ^where  we  had  taken  in  a  number  of 
young  people.  While  they  were  rejoicing  in  their 
first  love,  they  were  told  that  they  had  taken  shel- 
ter under  an  unmixed  despotism.  As  they  had 
been  lately  converted,  and  knew  but  little  about  the 
constitution  of  Methodism,  they  became  alarmed. 
What  rendered  their  situation  more  perilous  was, 
there  were  a  few  of  the  old  members  who  looked 
favorably  on  the  innovation.  Brother  Westlake  took 
considerable  pains  to  show  the  matter  in  its  proper 
light,  and  succeeded  to  some  extent.  Some  of  our 
best  men  urged  that  it  was  better  to  say  nothing 
about  it,  and  quietly  let  things  take  their  course. 
But  there  was  a  higher  voice,  saying,  "Son  of  man, 


MAD     RIVER     CIRCUIT.  295 

I  have  made  thee  a  watchman  unto  the  house  of 
Israel;  therefore,  hear  the  word  at  my  mouth  and 
give  them  warning  from  me."  When  I  came  again 
to  that  appointment  I  was  supplied  with  the  new 
Discipline.  I  understood  that  notice  had  been  given 
that  a  Eeformed  Methodist  Church  would  be  organ- 
ized next  Sabbath.  Some  of  our  old  members  feared 
that  there  would  be  a  large  split.  The  congrega- 
tion was  large.  As  it  was  my  regular  time  to  read 
and  explain  the  Discipline,  I  preached  very  short; 
then  read  the  rules  without  comment;  then,  to 
the  surprise  of  many,  pulled  out  the  rules  of  the 
Radical  Church,  showed  the  contrast  in  several  im- 
portant points — not  forgetting  the  clause  that  threw 
a  sanctity  over  all  property  acknowledged  by  the 
laws  of  the  States,  and  which  Joseph  Mitchell  him- 
self had  denounced  as  a  covert  for  slavery.  I  knew 
where  I  was  standing,  and  I  understood  their  cue. 
I  exhorted  them  not  to  suppose  that  I  was  meddling 
unnecessarily  with  the  rules  of  another  Church,  as 
they  all  knew  that  the  last  time  a  Radical  preacher 
was  there,  he  had  done  us  the  kindness  to  preach 
on  our  rules,  and  one  good  turn  deserves  another. 
The  day  of  "organization'"  came,  but  our  ranks 
were  unbroken. 

Brother  James  B.  Finley  was,  without  exception, 
the  most  useful  man  of  our  connection  in  the  West. 
He  had  not  a  polished  education.  This,  we  believe, 
was  his  own  fault.  His  father  superintended  a 
most  excellent  school,  in  which  some  of  the  first 


296  THE     CROSS. 

men  of  Kentucky  received  a  liberal  education. 
When  we  say  it  was  his  own  fault,  we  mean  he 
did  not  lack  the  opportunity  of  a  teacher,  or  the 
acuteness  necessary  to  comprehend;  but  his  dispo- 
sition was  adventurous  and  enterprising,  and  his 
physical  and  mental  energy  corresponded,  and  it 
was  a  mercy  that  he  learned  any  English,  with  so 
many  wild  deer  and  turkeys  peeping  at  him  in  his 
walks. 

His  father  said  John  could  preach,  but  James 
was  a  tolerable  exhorter.  All  we  might  draw  from 
this  was  that  James  was  impatient  of  the  old  school 
systematizing,  yet  he  would  set  his  congregation  on 
fire  before  his  father  would  lay  down  his  introduc- 
tion. Still  his  father  was  an  excellent  specimen  of 
the  Presbyterian  type,  and  justly  popular,  in  the 
strength  of  his  manhood.  He  excelled  in  sermoniz- 
ing with  his  pen,  and  preached  well  extemporane- 
ously. James,  sometimes  in  the  impetuosity  of  zeal, 
might  speak  or  act  unadvisedly,  but  when  con- 
vinced, no  man,  in  my  knowledge,  was  more  ready 
to  make  humble  confession. 

In  examining  the  character  of  a  certain  minister 
who  had  been  suspended,  our  elder,  having  received 
wrong  impressions  of  the  case,  left  his  seat  to  advo- 
cate the  cause  of  the  defendant;  and  being  wrongly 
posted  in  the  matter,  his  reasoning  and  conclusions 
were  all  defective  in  the  estimation  of  the  quarterly 
conference.  Brother  "Westlake,  in  his  quaint  but 
good-natured  way,  said,  "Brother  Finley,  may  not 


MAD    KIVER    CIECUIT.  297 

some  of  us  sit  in  that  chair?  Our  conference  is 
without  a  president  while  you  are  pleading."  He 
quickly  resumed  his  seat,  saying,  "This  conference 
acts  like  a  parcel  of  little  children."  We  adjourned 
awhile  to  return  to  the  camp-ground  and  dine. 
After  dinner  Westlake  met  the  elder  on  the  ground, 
and  said,  "Brother  Finley,  do  you  think  you  did 
well  in  saying  that  such  a  venerable  body  of  men 
acted  like  children?"  He  turned  away,  not  in 
anger,  but  apparently  afflicted.  When  the  confer- 
ence reassembled,  brother  Finley  occupied  the  chair 
in  silence,  and  seemed  to  be  absorbed  in  serious  re- 
flections, till  we  became  impatient.  He  then  arose, 
with  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  said,  "Brethren,  I  am 
unfitted  to  perform  the  duties  of  my  office  till  I 
make  suitable  amends.  When  I  look  around  on 
this  assembly  my  eyes  light  on  old  venerable  Meth- 
odists, who  were  humbly  serving  God  while  I  was 
a  wicked  sinner,  and  some  may  have  been  official 
members  before  I  was  a  preacher;  but  before  we 
adjourned  I  said,  'you  did  business  like  little  chil- 
dren.' I  hope  you  will  forgive  me,  one  and  all." 
We  all  fell  on  our  knees,  and,  0,  what  a  prayer! 
It  seemed  as  if  all  the  bottles  of  heaven  were 
opened,  and  were  pouring  on  our  Assembly.  When 
he  came  to  understand  the  case  correctly,  he  seemed 
to  be  more  than  ever  afflicted  at  his  course.  No 
man  ever  discharged  the  duties  of  a  presiding  elder 
better  than  he;  and  we  could  write  a  chapter  in  his 
praise,  but  his  life  is  before  the  world. 


298  THE    CROSS. 

About  this  time  the  disaffected  members  with- 
drew from  our  Church,  and  caused  considerable 
decrease. 


ZANESVILLE     CIRCUIT.  299 


XXII. 
ZANESVILLE   CIRCUIT. 

1830.  THE  Conference  was  held  this  year  in 
Urbana.  Some  of  the  friends  from  Chillicothe  told 
me  I  would  be  sent  there.  I  did  not  place  much 
confidence  in  this  till  some  of  higher  authority 
confirmed  the  rumor.  The  last  morning  of  the 
Conference,  the  appointments  were  to  be  read  out, 
and  I  thought  as  my  calling  and  election  was  sure, 
and  as  I  had  been  run  down  in  attending  on  the 
session,  there  was  no  necessity  for  my  going  to  hear 
my  appointment.  Then  again  it  occurred  to  my 
mind  that  this  would  be  mean  and  selfish.  I  ought 
to  go,  and  hear,  and  sympathize.  I  felt  as  calm  as 
Summer  evenings  are,  till  the  bishop  came  to  Chil- 
licothe district;  he  read  Chillicothe,  but  said 
nothing  about  A.  M.  L.,  and  he  kept  silence  about 
him  till  he  had  gone  through  that  and  another  dis- 
trict or  two,  and  I  was  looking  out  for  New  Vir- 
ginia, when  it  came  out  Zanesville.  Some  who  had 
strongly  assured  me  my  name  was  down  for  Chilli- 
cothe, came  to  apologize.  They  said  on  the  last 
evening  some  brother,  who  had  found  out  where  he 
was  appointed,  had  broke  traces;  and  this  caused 


300  THE    CROSS. 

several  removals  on  the  chess-board,  and  threw  me 
off  more  than  one  hundred  miles.     Here  was  a  ship 
to  pay,  and  no  pitch  hot.     But  we  addressed  our- 
selves to  the  journey.     On  arriving  on  the  field  of 
labor  we  stopped  with  a  pious  brother.     "While  sit- 
ting by  his  blazing  fire  in  the  evening,  he  said, 
"Brother,  where  have  you  been  traveling?" 
"On  the  Miamis  and  the  Mad  River." 
"0,  yes,  you  have  been  down  in  the  back  parts, 
but   the  Conference   has   highly  favored   you  now. 
They  have  sent  you  to  the  garden  of  Ohio." 

"Which  end  of  the  State  did  you  come  in  at, 
brother?" 

"Why,  I  came  in  at  this  end — why?" 
"Because  if  you  had  come  through  the  Miami 
and  Mad  River  country,  you  would  never  have  seen 
these  hills." 

There  was  no  parsonage  on  the  circuit,  no  place 
to  put  my  goods.  In  this  dilemma  we  were  laid 
under  lasting  obligations  by  Dr.  E.  D.  Roe,  now  of 
the  Cincinnati  Conference,  and  his  amiable  lady. 
They  took  care  of  us  till,  with  the  assistance  of  some 
of  the  brethren,  we  purchased  a  lot  with  a  log- 
house  on  it  in  the  town  of  Norwich.  It  was  a  tol- 
erably new  building,  and  we  thought  it  would 
answer  for  a  kitchen  when  the  circuit  had  time  and 
means  to  improve  it. 

One  of  my  successors  gave  me  an  awful  tongue- 
lashing  about  purchasing  the  property.  I  told  him 
if  he  had  hung  as  long  by  the  eyelids  as  I  had,  he 


ZANESVILLE    CIRCUIT.  301 

would  be  glad  to  get  in  a  manger,  and  it  was  his 
province  to  improve-it.  Dr.  Eoe  was,  at  that  time, 
a  merchant  in  very  brisk  business.  I  believe  I 
licensed  him  to  exhort.  At  first  he  did  not  attend 
much  to  this.  When  expostulated  with,  he  said  he 
was  so  busy  from  morning  till  night  through  the 
week,  that  he  had  but  little  time  to  study,  and  but 
little  heart  to  hold  meetings.  I  then  told  him  to 
examine  his  case  closely.  If  he  was  not  clearly 
convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  to  preach,  to  give  it 
up,  for  he  was  in  good  business,  and  might  get  rich 
and  do  much  good,  and  serve  God  acceptably;  but 
if,  on  the  other  hand,  he  was  confident  in  his  call, 
then  he  should  give  up  his  business,  however  prom- 
ising it  might  be,  and  devote  himself  altogether  to 
his  work.  Soon  after  I  left  the  circuit  he  was  an- 
nounced in  the  Minutes.  \:.'ft 
This  was  the  year  of  the  organization  of  the  Rad- 
ical Church  in  this  part  of  the  State.  In  reading 
the  appointments  of  that  Church,  I  was  astounded 
to  find  that  they  had  embraced  several  of  our 
classes,  and  had  hardly  left  me  root  or  branch.  In 
making  out  their  numbers,  they  had  counted  up 
whole  classes  that  had  been  returned  to  me.  Still 
I  thought- 1  would  go  to  these  classes  and  bid  them 
"good-by."  But  I  found  them  generally  steadfast 
and  immovable,  and  glad  to  see  their  own  preacher. 
The  disaffected  ministers  had  visited  them  several 
times,  and  because  they  had  treated  them  hospita- 
bly, and  did  not  quarrel  with  them,  they  thought 


302  THE    CROSS. 

they  might  count  the  chickens  before  the  eggs  were 
hatched.  However,  there  were  some  individuals  at 
all  these  appointments  who  joined  them  subse- 
quently. It  is  astonishing  what  frivolous  excuses 
some  made  for  leaving  in  this  split.  The  work  had 
begun  before  we  left  Urbana  circuit.  A  very  grave 
and  sour-looking  old  member  told  brother  Westlake 
before  a  large  class,  that  he  wished  to  withdraw; 
that  he  had  no  fault  to  find  with  bishops,  or  gov- 
ernment, or  any  such  thing;  but  that  our  Disci- 
pline forbids  us  to  sing  "songs  which  did  not  tend 
to  the  knowledge  or  love  of  God." 

Westlake  rose  up  very  solemnly  and  said, 

"Well,  brethren,  this  brother  wants  to  withdraw 
from  us  because  our  Church  does  not  approve  of  his 
singing  'dump  de  diddle'  and  'congu  mingo.'  We 
will  have  to  let  him  go." 

The  old  man  laughed,  and  the  class  gave  a  sym- 
pathizing echo. 

One,  after  he  had  left  us,  was  applied  to  for  some 
quarterage. 

"What,  do  you  want  quarterage?  This  was  what 
I  left  the  old  side  for — money,  money!  I  might  as 
well  have  staid  where  I  was." 

No  doubt,  many  left  for  good  reasons,  as  they 
supposed ;  a  number  left  because  they  had  lost  their 
taste  for  class  meetings,  a  sure  sign  of  their  deca- 
dence in  grace.  We  could  not  see  how  any  warm- 
hearted Christian  could  object  to  class  meetings  or 
love-feasts.  We  know  it  is  said  they  are  not  Gospel 


ZANESVILLE    CIRCUIT.  303 

ordinances;  neither  are  the  Bible  and  missionary 
societies.  The  Lord  has  revealed  the  elements  of 
salvation,  but  has  left  much  for  Christian  ingenuity 
to  accomplish,  suitable  to  different  ages  and  coun- 
tries. In  regard  to  our  physical  wellbeing,  the 
Lord  did  not  create  houses  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments; but  he  gave  us  forests  and  ore,  and 
endowed  man  with  powers  of  perpetual  progress, 
so  that  he  might  have  something  to  do.  Man  pro- 
gressed in  invention  and  discovery  —  the  bamboo 
tent,  the  log-cabin,  the  stately  mansion  rose  up  in 
succession;  the  rude  blade,  the  reap-hook,  the  cradle, 
the  mowing  machine,  corn-planter,  etc.;  so  that  the 
time  may  come  when  the  once  laborious  work  of  the 
farmer  may  become  a  diversion  of  unbounded  amuse- 
ment and  delight.  The  Lord  never  intended  man 
to  be  physically  idle — why  should  we  be  spiritually 
lazy?  We  have  a  right  to  institute  prudential 
means  that  are  of  evident  utility,  and  in  their  spirit 
Scriptural.  We  then  inquired,  are  our  love-feasts 
and  class  meetings  Scriptural  in  their  features  and 
ingredients?  Let  us  analyze  them.  They,  for  they 
are  twin  means,  are  constituted  of  three  Scriptural 
duties — prayer,  praise,  communion.  Can  any  Chris- 
tian object  to  prayer?  "Pray  without  ceasing." 
"Ask  and  you  shall  receive."  "Men  ought  always 
to  pray."  "Pray  for  one  another." 

Can  any  object  to  praise?  "Praise  God  —  sing 
praises  unto  God."  "Speak  to  one  another  in 
psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  making 


304  THE    CROSS. 

melody  in  your  hearts."  And  who  will  object  to 
the  communion  of  saints?  This  exercise  has  been 
dear  to  all  the  distinguished  saints  of  God  in  all 
ages.  The  Christian  does  not  love  to  eat  his  morsel 
alone.  In  sister  Churches  now  they  have  their 
"conversational  meetings,"  "conferences,"  and  "in- 
quiry meetings."  These  meetings,  under  different 
names,  are  constituted  of  the  three  simple  ingredi- 
ents— prayer,  praise,  Christian  communion.  It 
seems  to  be  the  prevailing  opinion  of  the  pious 
that  this  communion  or  interchange  of  religious 
sentiment  will  constitute  a  delightful  exercise  in 
heaven.  We  can  not  tell  what  will  be  the  way  of 
human  interlocution  in  the  new  creation — whether 
by  the  present  slow  communication  of  speech,  word 
by  word,  or  whether  we  will  intuitively  understand 
the  body  of  the  communication  in  a  flash.  But  it  is 
highly  reasonable  that  the  most  beloved  theme  of 
Christians  on  earth  will  enter  deeply  into  their  ce- 
lestial converse.  And  if  this  sweet  communion  will 
enter  into  the  celestial  enjoyments  of  the  saints  in 
light,  how  jealous  of  ourselves  we  should  be,  if  we 
love  not  such  gracious  opportunities  on  earth! 

As  our  field  had  been  especially  cultivated  by  the 
Eeformers — so  called — we  suffered  a  .declension  in 
number — quite  a  number  left. 


DELAWARE    CIRCUIT.  305 


XXIII. 
DELAWARE    CIRCUIT. 

1831-32.  MY  first  year  on  this  circuit  was  in 
connection  with,  brother  Samuel  Shaw,  a  rather 
eccentric  but  very  upright  man.  It  was  a  success- 
ful year,  and  we  had  a  good  time.  The  next  year, 
brother  David  Cadwallader  was  my  colleague  on 
the  same  circuit.  He  was,  in  my  opinion,  the  most 
simple-hearted,  holy  man  ever  connected  with  the 
Ohio  Conference  in  my  day.  When  he  first  came 
to  this  country  from  Wales,  he  settled  down  among 
some  of  his  own  countrymen,  some  of  whom  he  had 
known  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  He  had 
not  been  long  among  them  before  he  heard  some  of 
them  shout  in  their  meetings.  He  had  never  heard 
the  like  before,  and  he  was  filled  with  indignation. 
He  reproved  them  sharply,  telling  them  that  God 
was  a  God  of  order,  and  not  of  confusion.  He  was 
afraid  that  the  Methodism,  which  he  loved  so 
ardently  on  the  other  side  of  the  water,  was  gradu- 
ally depreciating  into  fanaticism.  After  a  while,  he  . 
heard  some  who  were  of  undoubted  piety  and  sound 
minds  indulging  in  the  same  practice.  This  led 
him  to  doubt  whether  he  might  not  be  wrong.  He 

passed  through  a  season   of  deep  affliction,  strong 

26 


306  THE    CROSS. 

cries,  and  tears  on  this  very  account;  and  he  im- 
plored the  Lord,  if  he  was  wrong  in  opposing  his 
brethren,  that  he  would  manifest  it  to  him  in  some 
way.  On  one  occasion  a  resistless  gale  of  love 
swept  over  his  soul,  and  before  he  knew  what  he 
was  doing,  he  was  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice. 
This  convinced  him  it  was  no  sin;  but,  as  if  to 
keep  him  convinced,  he  was  made  to  shout  on  all 
interesting  religious  occasions  ever  after. 

On  one  occasion  he  had  received  at  Conference  an 
appointment  to  a  Welsh  mission  in  one  of  the  East- 
ern States.  Subsequently  he  fell  into  doubt  whether 
it  was  in  the  order  of  Providence.  He  was  return- 
ing from  Conference,  in  company  with  several  young 
ministers — but  he  was  in  poor  company.  They  were 
elated  with  the  prospects  opening  before  them,  and 
indulged  in  innocent  mirth.  He  lagged  behind,  in 
agonizing  prayer,  under  a  thick  cloud.  In  the  even- 
ing they  put  up  at  a  village  tavern.  The  house  was 
crowded  with  men  who  were  employed  in  cutting 
the  canal.  -The  preachers  slept  in  a  long,  upper 
room,  which  was  well  occupied.  Under  the  circum- 
stances they  were  very  restless,  and  indulged  some 
in  talk.  Cadwallader  still  prayed.  About  midnight 
one  of  the  brethren  drew  the  curtain  of  a  window, 
and,  looking  out  on  the  bright  moonlight,  said, 
"Surely,  it'is  day."  At  that  moment  Cadwallader 
got  supremely  blessed,  and  he  sprang  on  the  floor, 
and  exclaimed,  "Yes,  glory  to  God,  it  is  day!  day- 
light through  all  my  soul !"  And  he  shouted  on, 


DELAWARE    CIRCUIT.  307 

without  limitation.  A  man  and  his  wife,  who  slept 
in  one  corner,  arose  and  gathered  on  their  clothes, 
and  the  man  cried  out,  "Brethren,  pray  for  us. 
Some  time  ago  I  came  to  work  on  the  canal.  A 
pious  yodRg  man,  a  member  of  my  class,  came  with 
me.  When  he  had  worked  a  little  while,  he  said  he 
would  go  home  again,  because,  if  he  staid  here,  he 
would  certainly  lose  his  soul.  I  laughed  at  him, 
and  I  staid — and  now  all  my  religion  is  clean  gone. 
0,  pray  for  us !"  The  brethren  prayed  and  sung. 
Cadwallader  started  down  stairs,  shouting.  The 
bar-room  floor  was  covered  with  Irish  laborers, 
packed  close  like  a  box  of  smoked  herrings.  They 
rose  in  great  fright,  and  scattered  every- where;  the 
family  came  pouring  down,  and  two  young  ladies 
were  converted.  There  was  no  more  sleeping  that 
night.  Cadwallader's  horse  was  brought  out  last, 
and  the  young  brethren  pushed  on.  On  their  way, 
they  began  to  discuss  their  bills,  thinking  they 
were  unusually  high;  and  they  turned  round,  and 
said,  "  Brother  Cad.,  what  did  that  old  tavern-keeper 
charge  you?"  With  an  innocent  smile,  he  said, 
"  Just  nothing  at  all.  He  said  he  would  not  charge 
such  a  man  as  I  was,  and  he  invited  me  to  call  and 
see  him  again."  As  innocent  as  my  colleague  was, 
he  would  sometimes  join  with  the  brethren  in  re- 
marking on  my  horsemanship.  In  the  Spring  of 
the  year,  he  came  home  one  day  in  a  wretched 
plight.  We  inquired  what  was  the  matter.  He 
said,  in  coming  over  Crawford's  plains,  he  saw  a 


308  THE    CROSS. 

most  beautiful  plat  of  young  grass  not  far  from  the 
road;  and  it  looked  so  smooth  and  inviting,  he 
thought  he  would  ride  over  it;  but  his  horse  had 
hardly  got  his  length  on  it,  before  both  horse  and 
rider  were  almost  swallowed  up  in  it;  bu^he  scuf- 
fled out,  with  the  loss  of  his  hat.  I  told  him  he 
had  often  remarked  on  my  riding;  but  I  had  passed 
that  same  beautiful  oasis,  and  was  tempted  to  ride 
over  it;  but,  seeing  that  the  cattle  grazed  every- 
where but  on  that  strip  of  tender  grass,  I  thought 
if  they  were  dubious  I  might  well  beware — so  I 
kept  the  homely  road.  "Well,  brother,  I  will  say 
no  more  about  your  riding.  I  saw  the  cattle,  too, 
but  did  not  follow  out  the  argument."  Our  circuit 
took  in  three  county  seats — Delaware,  Marion,  and 
Bucyrus — embracing  the  plains  of  Crawford,  almost 
to  the  Wyandott  reservation.  The  snow  covered 
the  ground  for  nearly  three  months.  In  my  little 
jumper  I  sailed  over  the  undulating  surface,  and 
almost  imagined  I  was  at  sea  again.  We  had  a 
blessed  revival — almost  universal — taking  in  up- 
ward of  four  hundred  members;  so  that  the  circuit 
had  to  be  divided  for  the  next  year.  The  revival 
at  Bucyrus  was  great.  We  could  not  then  hold 
what  we  now  call  protracted  meetings.  We  would 
have  to  leave  the  work,  to  fill  other  appointments, 
in  charge  of  responsible  brethren,  who  would  carry 
on  a  prayer  meeting  till  we  returned.  Having  thus 
left  Bucyrus  one  Sabbath  evening,  a  crowded  con- 
gregation came  out  to  prayer  meeting.  Just  before 


DELAWARE    CIRCUIT.  309 

the  time  to  begin,  a  preacher  came  in,  with  a  pair 
of  saddle-bags  on  his  arm,  ascended  the  pulpit,  and 
without  invitation  or  license,  sung,  prayed,  and 
preached — preached  bitterly  against  the  whole  econ- 
omy of  Methodism,  and  took  peculiar  pains  to  warn 
seekers  of  religion  to  keep  aloof  from  our  tyrannical 
institution.  He  concluded  by  saying  some  would 
wish  to  know  who  he  was.  He  was  an  old  Method- 
ist preacher,  and  knew  what  he  had  stated  was 
correct,  and  that  he  had  been  acquainted  with  their 
preacher  in  charge  for  many  years.  He  also  added 
that  he  was  a  missionary  to  the  Wyandott  Indians, 
whither  he  was  going.  "When  we  came  back,  we 
found  the  old  members  indignant  at  the  deception. 
The  young  members,  and  those  who  were  thinking 
of  joining,  were  anxious  to  know  how  far  his  decla- 
rations were  correct;  and  I  had  to  travel  over 
ground  which  I  had  fondly  hoped  it  would  not  be 
necessary  to  travel  over  in  that  latitude,  and  at 
that  late  day.  I  was  anxious  to  find  out  who  he 
was,  for  he  told  no  one  his  name.  But,  in  describ- 
ing his  personality,  they  mentioned  one  physical  de- 
fect, that  led  me  to  suppose  he  was  one  of  the  awful 
fathers  of  Radicalism.  This  supposition  was  after- 
ward found  to  be  correct.  But  we  survived  the  blow. 
The  Church  of  Christ  is  a  working  Church,  and 
there  are  few  in  it  who  can  not  do  some  good. 
There  was,  in  Bucyrus,  a  very  pious  member,  but 
he  had  no  education.  As  he  stood  at  the  altar, 
looking  at  the  members  engaged  in  the  work,  he 


310  THE    CROSS. 

thought,  in  himself,  can  I  do  nothing  in  this  good 
work?  He  saw  a  young  man  who  was  rather  de- 
riding the  work.  He  said  something  seemed  to  say, 
"Go  and  talk  with  that  young  man."  Then  he 
thought  again,  that  young  man  knows  more  than  I 
do;  he  is  learned.  Still  something  seemed,  to  say, 
"Go,  go!"  He  approached  him — took  his  hand — 
his  soul  was  too  big  for  utterance — he  burst  into 
tears — and  the  tall  and  proud  young  man  fell  pros- 
trate among  the  mourners. 

Brother  Cadwallader  has  passed  into  the  heavens. 
I  know  not  whether  any  marble  covers  his  remains; 
but  I  believe  that  he  was,  in  God's  sight,  a  great 
man.  I  do  not  say  he  was  the  most  useful  man 
among  us.  Some  men  may  be  very  useful — yes,  a 
necessity  of  the  Church — and  yet  not  be  the  most 
sanctified.  Peter  was  one.  of  the  most  useful  of 
Christ's  disciples — he  was  bold,  daring,  and  a  real 
business  man.  Yet  the  compliment  which  our  Lord 
paid  to  Nathaniel  was  the  most  that  was  said  of 
him  in  all  the  history  of  the  Gospel,  but  it  speaks 
volumes:  "Behold  an  Israelite,  indeed,  in  whom 
there  is  no  guile!" 

Brother  Bigelow  was  our  presiding  elder,  and 
was  deservedly  popular.  His  oratory  consisted 
principally  in  earnestness  of  spirit  combined  with 
physical  energy.  His  introduction  would  be  gener- 
ally about  thirty  minutes  long.  It  was  a  kind  of 
fireside  talk,  and  sometimes  tiresome,  and  some  of 
his  hearers  would  begin  to  feel  fearful  forebodings 


DELAWARE    CIRCUIT.  311 

about  the  length  of  his  sermon.  When  he  had 
fairly  entered  upon  his  subject,  he  became  very  en- 
tertaining for  about  an  hour.  Then  he  would 
rise — rise — rise,  higher  and  higher,  for  another 
hour,  till  soul  and  body  would  seem  to  be  rapt 
in  a  mighty  conflict  of  emulation.  It  would  be 
useless  to  describe  his  gestures;  they  were  of  all 
kinds,  and  indiscriminately  applied.  When  the 
tempest  culminated  it  came  down  on  the  congrega- 
tion with  a  mighty  shout,  leaving  a  shower  of  tears, 
and  all  the  congregation  on  their  feet.  They  were 
not  raised  to  their  feet  altogether  by  the  power  of 
his  eloquence,  as  some  of  his  friends  have  said;  but 
while  the  minds  of  the  congregation  were  all  deeply 
absorbed  by  the  preacher's  eloquence,  tired  nature 
Would  seek  relief  in  a  change  of  posture,  and  our 
poor  bodies  which  had  been  cramped  up  for  three 
hours,  till  almost  entirely  benumbed,  would,  despite 
all  human  volition,  rise  on  their  feet. 

No  man  could  imitate  Eussel  Bigelow  for  want 
of  physical  endurance,  and  he  could  not  have  com- 
manded this  for  any  length  of  time  were  it  not  he 
was  endowed  with  an  extraordinary  appetite  and 
digestive  power  which  seldom  fall  to  the  lot  of  man. 
It  would  have  proved  fatal  to  any  common  preacher 
to  have  competed  with  him  in  eating — pound  for 
pound — in  a  very  little  time.  We  do  not  mean 
that  he  was  gluttonous.  His  constitution  and  ex- 
cessive labors  imperiously  called  for  it,  and  what 
would  have  been  intemperate  eating  in  another, 


312  THE    CEOSS. 

was  in  him  a  necessary  supply  and  no  more.  Truly 
the  young  preachers  on  the  district  did — whether 
unconsciously  or  not  —  imitate  him  in  some  things; 
his  voice,  his  provincialisms,  his  exuberant  and  in- 
expressive gestures;  but  these  were  only  the  hinder 
part  of  the  orator.  They  would  fag  out  in  one 
hour  in  the  wake  of  his  fervor.  Brother  Bigelow 
was  a  humble  man,  considering  his  business  tact 
and  official  duties;  and  I  believe  he  desired  to  be 
more  so,  and  labored  to  habituate  himself  to  a  lowly 
carriage.  He  would  frequently  say  to  the  young 
preachers,  "  You  see,  brethren,  I  make  free  to  speak 
of  your  faults  and  advise  you;  but  this  is  the  com- 
mon duty  of  Christians.  If  you  see  any  thing 
wrong  in  me,  tell  me  of  it."  He  once  said, 

"Brother  L.,  if  you  see  any  thing  wrong  in  me, 
tell  me  of  it,  and  I  will  try  to  mend." 

"Well,  brother  B.,  there  is  one  thing  in  you 
which  is  wrong  in  my  opinion,  and  I  think  it  is 
wrong  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  that  is  your 
treatment  of  your  horse.  You  ride  him  furiously 
in  all  seasons,  and  he  has  always  a  sore  on  his  back 
as  big  as  my  fist;  you  throw  a  piece  of  rag-carpet 
on  it,  and  you  will  go  as  far  as  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  as  fast  as  the  animal  can  move;  you  then  de- 
liver him  over  to  any  body  when  you  stop.  The 
Bible  says  a  righteous  man  is  merciful  to  his  beast. 
You  ride  so  much  like  Jehu,  that  when  the  young 
preachers  wish  to  ride  fast,  they  will  whip  up  their 
horses,  and  say,  'Come,  let  us  Russelit.'" 


DELAWARE    CIRCUIT.  313 

While  I  was  delivering  my  lecture,  I  saw  him 
screw  up  one  corner  of  his  mouth,  and  when  I  was 
done  he  smiled,  and  seemed  to  regard  it  as  one 
of  the  most  trifling  reproofs  that  had  ever  been 
uttered.  The  business  he  was  on  —  preaching  the 
Gospel  —  he  thought  overtopped  the  horse  and 
every  thing  else.  The  king's  business  required 
haste. 

Bigelow  was  scrupulously  exact  in  regard  to 
every  point  of  Discipline,  great  or  small.  He  met 
me  once  on  the  plains,  and  broke  loose  upon  me, 
because  he  had  heard  that  I  had  admitted  a  certain 
lady  to  love-feast. 

"Brother  B.,  you  know  that  she  is  the  wife  of 
one  of  our  leaders,  and  that  she  is  very  pious, 
although  not  of  our  Church.  No  woman  on  the 
circuit  treats  the  preachers  better.  She  has  been 
particularly  kind  in  nursing  you  when  you  were 
sick.  Would  you  have  received  her  husband,  and 
driven  her  from  the  door?" 

"  Yes,  I  would  have  kept  her  out." 

"I  do  not  believe  Mr.  Wesley  ever  intended  no 
exceptions.  Indeed,  I  read  otherwise  in  his  Journal. 
Any  how,  the  Methodist  Discipline  or  any  other 
power  on  earth  shall  not  compel  me  to  act  in  an 
unchristian  or  brutal  manner." 

If  brother  Bigelow  had  lived  till  now  he  would 
be  borne  down  by  the  progress  of  this  generation, 
for  he  would  never  yield  a  piece  of  old-fashioned 

Methodism  as  big  as  his  thumb  nail.     He  held  the 
27 


314  THE    CROSS. 

most  orderly  camp  meetings  ever  seen  in  Ohio;  and 
he  possessed  the  courage  necessary  to  do  it.  At  our 
camp  meeting,  a  citizen  of  Marion  took  his  seat 
among  the  ladies.  Our  elder  very  politely  observed 
that  the  gentleman  perhaps  was  not  present  when 
the  rules  were  read.  He  then  mildly  gave  the 
reasons  for  the  rule,  and  said  he  hoped  he  would 
oblige  us  by  sitting  on  the  other  side.  The  man's 
face  turned  red  with  anger,  but  he  kept  his  seat. 
The  elder  added  he  had  hoped  that  a  mild  request 
would  be  complied  with  by  any  gentleman,  but  he 
had  force  sufficient  to  remove  him,  and  that  should 
be  attended  to  before  proceeding  to  any  other  busi- 
ness. Seeing  he  was  preparing  for  this  move,  the 
man  went  off  very  angry,  declaring  he  would  whip 
B.  if  he  ever  saw  him  in  Marion.  When  our  camp 
meeting  broke,  the  brethren  of  Marion  strongly 
urged  Bigelow  to  take  a  by-road;  but  he  laughed 
and  said  he  had  determined  to  go  back  on  the  usual 
road.  As  he  passed  by  the  man's  shop,  he  was. 
hailed  and  invited  to  come  in.  Although  he  had 
been  warned  that  he  was  a  notorious  bully,  and 
always  was  equal  to  his  threatenings,  yet  he  an- 
swered, "Certainly."  He  dismounted  and  went  in. 
The  bully  said,  "You  have  had  your  time,  and  now 
I  have  mine.  I  am  determined  to  thrash  you,  and 
I  will  do  it."  B.  observed  that  he  would  of  course 
be  manly  enough  to  give  his  reasons  and  a  chance 
for  explanation.  He  ran  over  his  principal  griev- 
ance, and  B.  asked  him  if  he  did  not  have  his  rules 


DELAWARE    CIECUIT.  315 

to  govern  his  family  and  shop,  and  if  any  one  came 
in  to  bear  down  his  authority  if  he  would  be  such 
a  coward  as  to  suffer  it.  He  said  he  would  not; 
and  taking  this  as  his  platform,  he  continued  to 
talk  till  the  lion  was  pacified.  They  shook  hands, 
and  the  preacher  was  invited  to  call  again.  In  one 
word,  Bigelow  was  one  of  the  most  useful  ministers 
in  our  Western  country.  The  people  would  crowd 
from  every  point  of  our  circuit,  and  many  points  on 
the  neighboring  circuits,  to  hear  him  at  our  quarterly 
meetings.  "We  traveled  under  him  many  years,  and 
he  lodged  with  us  as  often  as  he  could. 

I  exercised  the  strictest  discipline  upon  this  cir- 
cuit, catechising  the  classes  on  the  General  Eules. 
One  member  would  be  examined  on  one  rule,  and 
one  on  another,  and  a  short  exhortation  addressed 
to  the  rest  on  the  rules  under  consideration;  but  all 
were  examined  simply  and  singularly  on  the  rule 
regarding  spirituous  liquor.  At  the  onset  a  sister  in 
one  class  flew  into  a  passion,  and  said  she  held  it  to 
be  her  privilege  to  drink  when  she  pleased,  and 
what  she  pleased.  "Well,  sister,  the  rules  provide 
that  we  must  bear,  for  a  season,  with  those  who 
break  them.  This  day  four  weeks  we  will  be 
round,  if  the  Lord  permit,  and  in  the  mean  time  I 
will  pray  for  you  every  day.  I  beseech  you  to  do 
the  same,  understanding  that,  'if  you  repent  not,' 
we  will  be  compelled  to  drop  you."  At  another  class 
we  found  a  brother  who  had  once  been  a  Universal- 
ist,  and  was  high-spirited  by  nature,  but  was  pious 


316  THE    CROSS. 

and  intelligent.  He  rose  up  against  the  rule.  We 
gave  him  the  same  advice;  but  I  feared  he  would 
prove  a  hard  case.  At  the  extremity  of  the  circuit 
I  found  another  Amazon  inebriate  or  user  of  liquor 
as  a  beverage.  She  flew  into  high  opposition  to  the 
rule  on  drinking,  and  also  that  on  private  prayer. 
When  I  got  to  the  capital  of  the  circuit,  I  antici- 
pated trouble.  There  was  a  venerable  man  who 
was  leader,  exhorter,  and  steward,  who  used  liquor 
habitually,  and  especially  in  harvest  and  log-rolling. 
He  had  told  me  that  before  he  embraced  religion  he 
could  not  drink  enough  to  intoxicate  him.  He  used 
to  take  especial  delight  in  getting  his  companions  to- 
gether and  drinking  with  them,  glass  for  glass,  till 
he  had  them  all  down — dead  drunk — and  then  he 
would  stand  over  them  and  laugh.  On  one  occasion, 
after  drinking  his  usual  portion  through  the  day,  he 
bet  a  man  five  dollars  that  he  could  drink  a  quart 
of  brandy,  measured  from  the  pipe,  without  taking 
it  from  his  mouth.  He  clapped  the  measure  to  his 
lips  and  tossed  it  off  at  one  draught.  He  said  in 
one  moment  he  was,  as  it  were,  all  on  fire,  inside 
and  out.  Death  seemed  to  clasp  him,  and  hell  opened 
before  him.  In  the  next  moment  his  stomach  re- 
volted, and  he  threw  it  all  up.  He  would  tell  this 
with  tears  of  gratitude;  for  he  said  if  it  had  not 
been  for  this  instantaneous  discharge  he  would  have 
dropped  quickly  into  hell.  He  still  used  spirits, 
and  it  was  publicly  known.  To  deal  with  others, 
and  pass  by  him,  would  have  been  wicked  partiality. 


DELAWARE    CIRCUIT. 

So  I  put  the  same  question  to  him,  and  he  gave  an 
unfavorable  answer. 

On  the  next  round,  when  we  met  in  class  the 
first  delinquent,  she  rose  up,  all  subdued,  and  said 
she  had  taken  the  advice  given  her;  that  she  found 
herself  well-nigh  gone,  and  had  requested  the  class 
to  appoint  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer.  This  they 
did.  Her  soul  was  recovered  out  of  the  snare,  and 
there  was  a  revival  in  the  class.  When  I  came  to 
the  member  who  had  been  a  Universalist,  to  my  sur- 
prise, he  said  he  had  thought  the  matter  over,  and 
found  that  liquor  did  him  no  good,  and  he  had  de- 
termined to  keep  all  our  good  rules.  The  woman, 
who  said  she  was  opposed  to  my  examining  her 
on  family  prayer  and  drinking,  was  also  cured. 
She  said,  after  she  had  so  misbehaved  in  class, 
she  went  home,  and  set  about  getting  dinner.  Her 
husband  went  to  his  plow.  When  she  had  set  the 
table  she  went  out  and  called  her  husband  to  din- 
ner. He  turned  round,  and  said,  "My  dear,  you 
gave  me  enough  in  class  for  breakfast,  dinner,  and 
supper;"  and  he  drove  on.  This  reached  her  heart; 
she  felt  she  had  offended  her  pious  husband;  she 
had  offended  the  preacher;  but,  what  was  more 
than  all,  she  had  offended  the  Lord.  She  went  to 
her  closet  and  to  her  knees,  and  was  now  as  humble 
as  a  lamb.  Now  remained  my  old  rich  friend,  one 
who  had  been  particularly  kind  to  me.  But  I  de- 
termined to  know  no  one  according  to  the  flesh;  for 
my  labor  was  not  fruitless.  I  had  hard  work  here. 


318  THE    CROSS. 

I  appealed  to  him  as  a  steward  who  was  appointed 
to  see  that  I  did  my  duty.  I  told  him  how  other 
members  had  renounced  liquor,  and  the  good  that 
followed;  and  assured  him  that  I  would  be  driven  to 
the  painful  necessity  of  bringing  him  to  trial  if  he 
did  not  comply.  I  got  his  consent  within  about 
five  minutes  before  the  time  for  preaching — and  my 
whole  circuit  was  cleansed  of  this  iniquity,  and  all 
the  rules  observed. 

In  the  first  years  of  my  itinerancy,  I  always 
found  that  a  strict  adherence  to  Discipline  always 
revived  the  Church.  No  man  can  administer  it 
now,  in  all  points,  without  being  regarded  as  a 
tyrant,  a  bloody  Bishop  Bonner.  Then  it  is  reported 
he  is  not  acceptable  to  the  people;  and  then  the  very 
power  that  has  pledged  him,  when  entering  into  holy 
orders,  to  administer  the  Discipline  "with  a  firm 
but  mild  hand,"  has  to  put  him  where  they  can  get 
him.  Now,  if  we  have  come  to  the  day  when  all 
the  obsolete  requirements  of  the  Discipline  can  not 
be  administered,  the  General  Conference  ought  to 
do  them  away,  so  that  the  new  ministers  ought  not 
to  be  required  to  promise  to  do  what  the  old  men 
know  they  can  not  do.  If  the  rule  on  class  meet- 
ings should  be  enforced  now,  as  in  ancient  days,  it 
would  cut  off  one-third  of  our  membership  and  dis- 
affect  another.  We  know  that  there  are  some  ex- 
ceptions. For  this  cause  we  have  of  late  years 
sought  to  be  excused  from  the  charge. 


MOUNT    VERNON    CIKCUIT.  319 


XXIV. 
MOUNT   VERNON   CIRCUIT. 

1833-34.  WILLIAM  WESTLAKE  rode  with  me  on 
this  circuit  the  first  year,  and  Charles  Lovell  the 
last.  When  we  arrived  at  Mount  Vernon,  there 
was  great  excitement  about  the  cholera,  which  was 
reported  to  be  advancing  in  different  directions. 
While  preaching  in  a  crowded  school-house,  on 
Sunday  evening,  it  was  announced  in  the  congrega- 
tion, that  one  of  the  doctors,  who  had  been  out  to 
attend  a  case  of  the  cholera,  had  returned  home  in 
the  last  stage  of  the  disease.  This  caused  almost  a 
general  stampede.  We  had  no  place  to  accommo- 
date our  congregation  here  till  our  meeting-house 
was  finished. 

We  had  on  our  plan  "Martinsburg;"  and  we 
were  a  little  puzzled,  in  seeing  no  society  and  no 
official  names  in  connection.  I  could  get  but  little 
information  in  regard  to  the  road,  and  got  out  of 
the  way.  About  two  o'clock  I  entered  the  town, 
and  inquired  of  the  first  man  seen,  if  there  were 
any  Methodists  living  in  the  place.  After  consid- 
erable study,  he  said  there  was  not  one;  but,  point- 
ing to  a  certain  house,  he  said  there  was  an  old 
woman  living  there  who  might  lean  that  way.  I 


320  THE     CROSS. 

entered  the  house,  and  asked  if  she  knew  of  any 
Methodists  living  in  Martinsburg. 

"Laws!  no,  sir.  There  were  some  here  once; 
but  they  have  moved,  died,  or  backslidden.  There 
is  not  one  here  now." 

I  sat  a  little  while,  hoping  she  would  ask  me  to 
put  up  my  horse,  and  take  a  bite  myself;  but  this 
she  did  not  think  of.  After  a  while  she  said, 

"I  can  tell  you  one  thing  for  your  comfort;  if 
you  are  a  Methodist  preacher,  as  I  suppose,  the 
people  here,  generally,  love  to  hear  a  Methodist 
minister  better  than  any  other." 

"Well,  madam,  can  you  tell  me  of  any  Method- 
ists who  live  within  a  short  distance  of  this  place?" 

"Yes,  I  have  a  son  who  is  the  leader  of  a  class 
about  three  miles  off." 

She  gave  me  directions,  and  I  got  to  her  son's  in 
the  evening  —  man  and  horse  sufficiently  tired  and 
hungry.  While  we  were  sitting  around  the  table, 
there  came  a  messenger,  express  from  town,  saying, 
if  the  ministers  would  give  them  regular  preaching, 
two  of  the  merchants  and  a  cabinet-maker  would 
pledge  themselves  to  keep  them  and  their  horses. 

"Then  tell  them  we  will  begin  with  them  to- 
morrow evening  by  early  candle-lighting." 

When  I  went,  I  found  that  the  Presbyterians 
were  holding  a  sacramental  meeting.  I  told  my 
friends  that  I  had  no  knowledge  of  that,  and  was 
ready  to  postpone.  They  said  this  would  make  no 
material  difference,  as  we  could  get  a  large  school- 


MOUNT    VERNON    CIRCUIT.  321 

house  crowded  with  persons  who  would  not  be  likely 
to  attend  the  other  meeting.  We  faced  a  crowded 
congregation  at  night,  and  felt  that  we  had  struck 
the  right  vein.  The  work  of  God  revived,  gradu- 
ally, but  gloriously;  and  before  we  left  the  circuit, 
ninety  persons,  embracing  the  bone  and  sinew  of 
the  village,  embraced  religion.  The  two  merchants 
and  the  cabinet-maker  were  converted,  and  that 
brightly.  At  one  meeting  a  couple  of  brethren 
went  to  brother  M'Claughlin,  and  asked  him  if  he 
would  not  join  the  mourners  at  the  altar.  He  said, 
"Friends,  I  would,  but  can  not.  I  am  unstrung  in 
all  my  limbs."  They  raised  him,  and  brought  him 
up.  At  a  subsequent  meeting  he  was  converted, 
and  went  home  shouting  through  the  street.  The 
other  merchant  was  a  brother-in-law  to  the  Presby- 
terian minister.  His  people  tried  hard  to  keep  him 
from  joining  us.  He  told  them  he  could  not  in- 
dorse their  doctrine,  and  expressly  referred  to  its 
bearing  on  infants.  One  of  the  elders  utterly  de- 
nied that  it  had  any  such  bearing,  and  he  looked  to 
the  minister  for  confirmation;  but  the  preacher  was 
silent.  Then  the  gentleman  opened  his  library, 
took  out  a  volume,  and  read  the  quotation  he  had 
made.  The  elder's  look  of  astonishment  showed 
that  his  contradiction  was  entirely  innocent.  The 
brother  told  them  he  would  not  be  hasty.  He 
wished  to  examine  all  the  ground  before  taking  an- 
other step.  He  went  eastward  for  goods,  purchased 
a  Methodist  Discipline  and  some  other  works,  and 


THE    GROSS. 

read  them  on  his  way  home,  like  the  Ethiopian,  and 
joined  our  Church.  The  brethren  built  a  handsome 
meeting-house,  plastered  it  in  the  midst  of  Winter, 
keeping  their  stoves  in  full  blast  night  and  day. 

Before  I  left  them  they  gave  me  one  of  the  most 
costly  coats  I  ever  wore,  even  in  the  days  of  my 
brightest  prosperity;  and  it  was  made  in  a  finished 
style  by  a  tailor  who  was  expelled  from  the  Church. 
Without  self-flattery,  this  was  owing  to  my  just 
manner  of  administration.  I  always  endeavored  to 
secure  to  the  defendant  every  facility  in  his  defense, 
and  that  even  when  I  had  prescience  enough  to 
know  he  would  be  expelled.  In  doing  this  I  have 
had  sometimes  to  try  the  patience  of  an  indignant 
committee.  They  would  think  certain  round-about 
statements  were  entirely  irrelevant  in  the  defense. 
I  thought  so  myself,  but  could  always  bear  with  a 
dying  man,  and  let  him  have  a  fair  swing.  So  the 
expelled  seldom  abused  me.  I  once  had  to  pro- 
nounce a  brother  expelled,  and  from  the  excitable 
disposition  of  himself  and  wife,  I  expected  no  mercy. 
Still,  God  blessed  them  with  an  heir  in  a  few  weeks, 
and  they  named  him  A.  M.  L.  I  always  thought 
it  a  most  solemn  thing  to  cut  off  a  soul  from  the 
congregation  of  the  Lord,  for  if  we  do  it  justly, 
mitid  ye,  it  will  be  done  in  heaven. 

There  was  an  appointment  a  few  miles  from  Mar- 
tinsburg,  up  a  rocky  run.  It  was  one  of  your  old, 
staid  societies,  in  number  truly  apostolic.  If  one 
member  died  or  removed,  another  would  move  in 


MOUNT    VEENON    CIRCUIT.  323 

and  make  up  the  round  dozen.     When  I  went  there, 
some  said, 

"Brother  L.,  we  have  heard  of  revivals,  and 
sometimes  not  far  from  us,  but  we  have  never  had 
one  in  this  society.  Can  you  tell  us  what  to  do  in 
order  to  a  revival?" 

"Brethren,  do  you  truly  desire  a  revival,  and 
pray  for  it?" 

"  We  always  pray  for  it." 

"Have  you  ever  added  fasting  to  prayer?" 

"No,  we  never  thought  of  that." 

"Well,  try  it;  but  don't  try  it  till  you  hold  a 
conference  on  the  subject,  and  get  the  consent  of 
every  member;  then  appoint  a  day,  leave  off  all 
work,  come  together,  and  pray  for  a  revival." 

The  brethren  did  so,  and  the  Lord  heard  on 
earth,  and  answered  from  heaven.  They  had  a 
precious  work.  Our  appointments  were  in  the 
evening.  The  house  was  crowded,  and  sometimes 
the  porch  and  part  of  the  yard,  although  the 
weather  was  disagreeable.  The  Campbellites  in- 
fested this  region,  and  withstood  us  greatly.  When 
a  member  Would  come  out  of  the  house  they  would 
beset  him  in  this  way: 

"Why  are  you  always  dunning  the  Lord?  Sup- 
pose you  owed  me  a  few  dollars,  and  I  should  be 
always  dunning  you  for  them,  would  you  not  de- 
spise me?  But  you  dun  the  Lord  in  the  morning, 
at  noon,  and  then  all  night.  You  must  know  it  is 
displeasing  to  him." 


324  THE    CROSS. 

Methodist  "I  pray  to  God  because  I  am  needy, 
and  none  but  him  can  help  me.  Do  you  not  pray 
to  God  in  time  of  need?" 

Campbellite.  "I  allow  a  man  may  get  into  a 
strait,  once  or  twice  in  his  life,  when  he  may  pray; 
but  what 's  the  use  of  always  dunning  ?" 

The  Campbellites  had  so  incessantly  preached  im- 
mersion, as  to  influence  the  neighborhood  on  that 
point,  so  our  converts  all  wished  to  be  baptized  by 
immersion.  We  gave  out  an  appointment  to  attend 
to  that  matter.  In  the  mean  time  it  turned  unusu- 
ally cold,  and  the  run  was  partially  frozen.  The 
class-leader  met  me  on  the  road,  and  said, 

"Brother  L.,  will  you  baptize  our  new  members 
to-day?" 

"Certainly,  if  they  wish  it.  Did  I  not  set  apart 
this  day  to  that  purpose?" 

"You  did;  but  the  Campbellites  have  been  troub- 
ling our  new  members,  and  asking  them  if  they  are 
so  simple  as  to  suppose  that  a  Methodist  preacher 
would  put  his  foot  into  water  such  weather  as  this." 

"Let  them  mind  their  own  business." 

When  we  marched  down  to  the  water,  the  whole 
country  crowded  the  banks.  I  first  walked  in  alone, 
sounding  every  depth  and  shoal  with  my  staff.  As 
I  descended  into  the  water  and  ice,  it  seemed  as  if 
my  legs  were  cut  off;  but  I  walked  about  with  a 
countenance  as  serene  as  a  basket  of  chips,  stopped 
and  compared  places,  and  splashed  the  water  like  a 
canvas-backed  duck.  This  was  no  hypocrisy.  I  felt 


MOUNT    VERNON    CIECUIT.  325 

joyful  in  the  prospect  of  putting  the  mark  of  the 
covenant  on  our  young  converts,  by  whatever  mode. 
I  then  took  the  candidates  in  one  by  one,  and  felt 
the  bottom  with  every  one  of  them,  and  the  Camp- 
bellites  acknowledged  it  was  done  secundum  artem. 
But  this  was  the  beginning.  As  fast  as  they  came 
in  they  wished  to  be  immersed.  We  made  only  one 
blunder — that  was  with  a  large  African.  Before 
going  in  he  said  he  wanted  to  be  baptized  like  the 
colored  people  in  old  Virginia — that  was  to  tie  his 
handkerchief  around  his  head,  so  as  to  leave  a  tail 
for  the  preacher  to  take  hold  of.  I  told  him  I  was 
raised  in  old  Virginia,  and  had  seen  that  operation 
often,  but  he  had  better  let  me  do  my  own  way, 
assuring  him  I  had  never  failed;  but  he  insisted  on 
his  own  way,  and  he  tied  his  cotton  handkerchief 
around  his  head;  but  the  misfortune  was  he  had 
little  or  no  forehead.  His  head  appeared  to  be  as 
flat  as  a  turnip.  When  I  undertook  to  lay  him 
down  he  threw  his  head  back,  and  the  handkerchief 
slipped  off.  There  was  considerable  floundering,  but 
I  put  him  under.  He  seemed  somewhat  mortified 
that  his  chosen  mode  did  not  take. 

William  Westlake  had  a  sprinkle  of  eccentricity. 
At  a  distant  point  of  his  circuit  his  host  told  him  a 
Campbellite  was  going  to  preach  at  night  in  'the 
school-house,  and  that  it  was  a  new  occurrence. 
He  asked  him  if  he  would  not  go.  Westlake  said 
he  believed  he  would.  When  they  got  there,  the 
house  was  so  crowded  they  barely  got  inside. 


THE    CROSS. 

The  preacher,  in  illustrating  his  system,  used 
much  "bargain  and  trade"  figures.  He  said  when 
men  got  title-bonds  for  any  thing  they  felt  legally 
safe,  knowing  that,  at  the  time  and  place  specified, 
they  would  certainly  receive  the  consideration.  So 
it  was  in  salvation.  Baptism  was  God's  title-bond 
of  eternal  life  given  to  the  sinner.  All  who  would 
receive  this  would  be  certain  of  salvation.  This 
was  the  backbone  of  his  discourse.  When  he  was 
done  preaching  he  said  if  there  were  any  in  the  con- 
gregation who  had  not  understood  his  doctrine — 
new  to  the  most  of  them — he  was  willing  to  answer 
any  questions  which  might  be  asked.  They  pro- 
fessed to  be  teachers  rather  than  preachers. 

Westlake,  "  I  would  not  mind  asking  you  a 
question  or  two,  sir,  if  I  could  be  simply  answered 
without  any  controversy." 

Preacher.  "Controversy,  indeed!  We  wish  to 
teach  in  the  most  simple  manner,  and  are  willing  to 
answer  all  objections  in  meekness  and  love." 

Westlake.  "If  I  did  not  misunderstand  you,  sir, 
you  hold  that  immersion  is  a  title-bond  to  eternal 
life,  and  he  who  is  immersed  has  a  right  to  heaven?" 

Preacher.  "Exactly,  you  understand  me  right; 
and  pray,  what  do  you  think  of  it?" 

Westlake.  "  Why,  it  drummed  up  curious  thoughts 
in  my  mind.  I  thought  that  if  your  doctrine  is  true, 
there  must  be  many  hogs  in  heaven." 

Preacher.  "What  do  you  mean,  sir?" 

Westlake.  "  When  our  Lord  cast  a  legion  of  devils 


MOUNT    VERNON    CIRCUIT.  327 

out  of  one  who  was  possessed,  they  went  into  a 
great  herd  of  swine,  and  they  ran  violently  down  a 
steep  place  into  the  sea  and  were  immersed.  They 
received  your  title-bond  and  a  legion  of  devils  with 
them.  Good-night,  sir." 

The  gravest  in  the  congregation  could  not  restrain 
themselves. 

Preacher.  "Stop,  sir — 0,  don't  go — now  see  that, 
he  is  off.  I  do  hate  a  man  who  will  not  wait  for 
explanations." 

Westlake.  (Putting  his  head  into  the  doorway.) 
"You  proposed,  simply,  questions  and  answers, 
without  controversy.  Good-night." 

That  Campbellite  sermon,  in  that  neighborhood, 
was — solus.  Six  days'  controversy  could  not  have 
effected  as  much. 

Charles  E.  Lovell  was  in  his  first  itinerant  year. 
He  was  a  young  man  of  pleasing  appearance,  tal- 
ented, and  popular.  When  I  had  an  interview  with 
him  last  year,  at  Conference,  and  listened  to  the  melt- 
ing recital  of  his  loss,  in  the  death  of  his  amiable 
daughter — and  when  I  looked  up,  and  saw  how 
care  and  anxiety  had  begun  to  sprinkle  his  locks — 
and  when  my  mind  went  back  to  the  day  when  he, 
and  I  might  say  his  bride,  for  they  were  lately 
married,  lived  together  with  us,  blithe,  cheerful, 
and  religiously  happy — I  said,  in  the  depth  of  my 
heart, 

"  What  trials  have  we  seen ! 
What  conflicts  have  we  passed  1" 


328  THE    CROSS. 

May  his  last  days  be  his  best  days,  and  may  he 
get  safely  home,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him ! 
Brother  Christie  was  our  presiding  elder,  and  his 
fame  spread  all  through  that  region  and  the  country 
round  about,  drawing  great  congregations  from  all 
parts  and  all  denominations.  He  always  put  up 
with  us  when  he  could;  and  I  always  blacked  his 
boots — not  to  curry  favor,  for  I  never  eat  post-hay 
for  any  man,  but  because  I  loved  him.  When  I 
went  to  assist  him  with  a  big  meeting,  at  his  home, 
he  would  clean  my  shoes  in  spite  of  all  my  scuffling. 
He  was  determined  the  sailor  should  not  outdo  him 
in  hospitality.  I  was  acquainted  with  his  wife  from 
her  girlhood.  We  may  have  occasion  to  speak  of 
Christie  again;  but,  lest  it  might  be  forgotten,  I 
will  say  he  was  an  extraordinary  man.  He  had  an 
uncommon  memory.  He  could  read  one  of  Watson's 
sermons,  and  get  up  and  preach  it  much  better,  as 
I  thought,  than  the  author  ever  did.  He  was  not 
given  to  this,  for  he  had  an  energy  and  power  in 
himself  sufficient  for  all  cases,  elaborate  or  extem- 
poraneous. He  beat  Bigelow  on  the  Canadian  ques- 
tion—  not  only  confuting  the  arguments  he  had 
brought,  but  continued  on,  in  anticipation,  to  an- 
swer every  one  that  he  might  possibly  bring,  till  he 
left  his  opponent  high  and  dry  at  flood-tide;  and, 
like  the  ass  between  two  stacks  of  hay,  we  knew 
not  which  to  sympathize  with. 


UNION    CIRCUIT.  329 


XXV. 

"'  .- .  *"(    •'       '  fW*l$QS^  ''•??,'  TSOt!*»l  '-'iii 

UNION  AND   MADISONVILLE  CIRCUITS. 

1835.  ON  the  Union  circuit,  embracing  Xenia,  I 
had  with  me  Alexander  Morrow  and  Stephen  Hol- 
land. Morrow  was  a  very  correct  speaker,  and  a 
good  sermonizer,  justly  esteemed.  Holland  was 
above  mediocrity,  and  although  not  possessing  the 
advantages  of  a  liberal  education,  this  want  could 
seldom  be  detected  by  a  stranger.  He  was  natu- 
rally impulsive,  and  graciously  filled  with  the 
blessed  Spirit,  and  with  power.  Affectionate  in  his 
intercourse,  he  could  not  be  otherwise  than  popular. 
This  was  a  six- weeks'  circuit — and  we  humbly  think 
there  can  not  be  an  arrangement  more  unfortunate. 
The  people  could  hardly  get  acquainted  with  their 
preachers.  When  the  quarterly  meeting  took  a 
preacher  from  a  certain  appointment,  that  appoint- 
ment would  not  have  his  services  for  three  months. 
If  the  preacher  should  be  taken  from  the  same  ap- 
poBtment  by  every  quarterly  meeting,  then  he 
would  not  be  at  that  appointment  the  whole  year. 
But  this  was  not  suffered  to  happen.  This  arrange- 
ment gave  much  trouble  to  the  preacher  in  charge, 

and  he  had  to  do  much  by  delegation  to  his  col- 

28 


330  THE    CROSS. 

leagues.  Nevertheless,  we  had  some  good  times, 
and  quite  a  revival  at  Centerville. 

There  had  been  a  general  revival  the  two  preced- 
ing years,  under  Latta  and  Laws,  and  this  was 
necessarily  a  year  of  pruning  and  confirmation. 
The  reader  will  recollect  that  I  started  from  Xenia. 
It  was  there,  while  a  local  preacher,  that  I  had  the 
honor  of  drawing  up  the  heading  of  the  first  mis- 
sionary subscription  that  was  started  in  the  West — 
and,  for  aught  I  know,  in  the  Union — that  is,  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  was  when  the 
Wyandott  mission  was  yet  in  the  hands  of  the  local 
ministers.  Subscriptions  had  been  raised  in  the 
congregations;  but  now  the  missionary  friends  be- 
gan to  assume  the  form  of  a  society — every  sub- 
scriber a  member. 

"We  were  very  well  situated  on  the  Union  circuit, 
surrounded  by  old,  tried  friends — friends  who,  when 
they  recommended  me  to  the  Conference,  told  the 
elder  they  did  not  recommend  to  others  one  whom 
they  would  be  unwilling  to  receive  themselves.  &u 

But  at  the  last  quarterly  meeting  a  circumstance 
occurred,  which  led  to  my  voluntary  removal.  The 
elder,  brother  Raper,  told  me  his  manner  of  con- 
ducting the  last  quarterly  meeting  in  the  year. 
He  said,  among  other  things,  he  examined  the  stfrw- 
ards  in  regard  to  the  performance  of  their  duties, 
one  by  one.  I  begged  he  would  not  do  this,  as  I 
had  never  unto  that  day  known  it  to  be  done,  and 
as  there  was  no  doubt  about  our  getting  our  quar- 


UNION     CIRCUIT.  331 

terage,  it  seemed  unnecessary;  that  our  stewards 
were  like  the  stewards  on  all  other  circuits — some 
very  faithful,  and  some  who  did  not  concern  them- 
selves with  their  office  at  all.  But  if  he  inquired 
about  each  man,  as  a  Christian  I  would  have  to  tell 
the  truth,  and  that,  in  the  very  nature  of  things, 
would  raise  a  smoke,  as  it  always  does.  But  he 
held  me  to  it.  Some  of  the  stewards  I  praised 
highly — they  were  worthy;  but  of  others  I  had  to 
say  that  they  never  came  to  quarterly  conference 
only  when  it  came  to  them.  They  never  spoke  of 
financial  matters  even  in  their  own  classes;  and 
they  never  entered  the  parsonage  to  inquire  whether 
we  were  dead  or  alive.  This  raised  a  warm  con- 
versation, for  it  was  necessarily  personal.  Some 
said  brother  L.  should  have  his  quarterage  if  no 
other  man  had.  This  cut  me,  as  I  was  one  whose 
standing  rule  was  never  to  utter  a  word  about  the 
quarterage.  I  observed  that  there  was  no  anxiety 
about  that.  My  motive  was  altogether  moral.  The 
elder  had  pointedly  asked  me  if  such  a  brother  per- 
formed all  the  duties  of  a  steward.  The  brother 
himself  knew  that  he  had  not.  His  colleagues 
knew  that  he  had  riot.  His  own  class  knew  that 
he  had  not.  The  Lord  knew  that  he  had  not;  and 
how  could  I,  a  professed  minister,  lie,  and  say  that 
he  had?  I  had  never  been  asked  the  question  be- 
fore, and  tried  to  stave  it  off,  and  was  obliged  to 
answer  as  I  did.  After  quarterly  conference  I  told 
the  elder  he  must  move  me.  He  thought  there  was 


332  THE    CROSS. 

no  occasion.  He  consulted  with  the  brethren,  and 
assured  me  I  was  not  yet  done  over.  This  I  be- 
lieve, for  the  brethren  who  were  most  nettled  were 
afterward  remarkably  kind.  But  still  I  held  to  my 
request,  and  it  was  granted. 

We  might  say  a  great  deal  in  praise  of  this  cir- 
cuit, but  it  is  unnecessary,  because  it  is  so  well 
known  by  many  of  our  ministers.  Xenia  always 
seemed  like  my  home,  and  while  that  generation 
lasted,  I  never  stopped  there  without  being  sur- 
rounded and  taken  by  storm.  It  was  like  Auburn — 
"loveliest  village  of  the  plain." 

MADISONVILLE. 

1836.  We  rode  this  circuit  in  1836  and  1837, 
having  traveled  it  before  while  connected  with  the 
Miami  circuit.  The  first  year  we  labored  with 
brother  Cheney,  and  the  second,  with  brother  Par- 
ish. They  were  both  very  pious  and  pleasant.  We 
had  some  very  encouraging  meetings,  and  the  soci- 
eties were  lively. 

1856.  As  it  is  my  design  to  keep  every  appoint- 
ment  under  one  heading,  I  will  add  that  I  rode  the 
circuit  again  in  1856  and  1857.  So  I  labored  five 
years  on  this  charge,  and  from  time  to  time  re- 
newed my  acquaintance  with  members  that  I  had 
taken  in — long  time  ago.  Having  endured  thus 
far,  we  hope  they  will  continue  till  eternal  life.  I 
feel  thankful  to  the  brethren  there  that  they  bore 
so  long  with  me,  and  especially  for  the  kind  recep- 


MADISONVILLE.  333 

tion  they  gave  me  on  my  last  coming.  The  parson- 
age being  already  occupied  by  my  colleague,  brother 
Glasscock,  who  labored  on  the  circuit  the  previous 
year,  I  settled  in  Columbia,  a  beautiful  village  on 
the  bank  of  the  Ohio. 

On  my  second  year  we  had  an  extraordinary  wet 
season  in  the  Fall,  and  mud  in  abundance.  On  one 
of  the  most  dreary  and  showery  evenings  of  that 
season,  about  nightfall,  the  parsonage  was  stormed 
at  all  available  points  by  horse  and  foot,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  who  poured  down  upon  us  a  profusion 
of  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  this  life.  Colonel 
Holmes,  on  the  part  of  the  company,  made  a  humor- 
ous but  chaste  speech,  observing  that  he  hoped  the 
visit  would  be  more  grateful  to  me,  when  he  assured 
me  that  it  was  not  on  account  of  any  murmuring 
or  complaining  on  the  part  of  the  preacher  or  his 
family,  for  no  such  thing  had  been  heard.  Neither 
was  it  because  they  had  heard  of  any  pressing  want, 
but  it  was  simply  as  an  expression  of  their  good 
feeling  toward  us.  We  might  also  see  that  it  was 
not  simply  a  Church  matter,  but  the  citizens  gen- 
erally had  joined  in  the  visitation,  and  if  the  night 
had  been  clear,  the  yard,  instead  of  the  house,  would 
have  been  full,  and  he  had  heard  no  one  in  or  out 
of  the  Church  object.  This  is  only  an  outline  of  his 
speech,  and  before  he  was  done  I  was  pretty  much 
used  up.  I  have  been  accustomed  to  make  speeches 
in  and  out  of  the  pulpit,  and  if  any  one  should 
rouse  my  anger,  I  suppose  I  could  talk  some;  but 


334  THE    CROSS. 

when  one  knocks  out  the  bung  of  gratitude  I'm 
"done  over."  I  made  some  kind  of  reply,  but  it 
was  very  unworthy  of  the  occasion.  The  doctor 
presented  Mrs.  Lorrain  with  some  coffee,  under  the 
notion  of  a  specific  medicine,  and  began  to  give  a 
verbal  recipe,  if  we  might  so  speak,  and  directions 
how  to  mix  and  prepare  it.  I  saw  this  gave  her 
considerable  diversion,  and  I  said,  "Doctor,  you 
need  not  be  very  precise,  she  can  mix  that  medi- 
cine better  than  any  one  in  this  community. 
She  is  famous  in  that  decoction  throughout  the 
Conference." 

I  can  not  express  my  affection  for  the  brethren 
of  this  circuit,  with  many  of  whom  I  have  taken 
sweet  counsel  for  so  many  years.  The  principal 
strength  of  the  Church  in  Columbia  was  the  female 
members.  They  were  well  qualified  by  gifts  and 
grace,  and  although  duly  modest  in  all  social  rela- 
tions, yet  they  were 

"Bold  to  take  up,  firm  to  sustain 
The  consecrated  cross." 

Brother  Murphy  rode  with  me  during  the  last 
year  on  this  circuit.  It  pleased  Grod  to  take  away 
the  wife  of  his  youth  in  the  midst  of  the  year.  I 
preached  the  funeral  sermon,  and  must  say  that  I 
have  seldom  seen  a  congregation  sympathize  so 
deeply  with  the  bereaved.  She  was  an  extraordi- 
nary good  woman,  and  was  fully  prepared  for  her 
great  change.  She  lies  in  the  same  graveyard  with 


MADISONVILLE. 

my  own  mother,  who  died  in  the  same  parsonage 
in  1837. 

In  this  circuit  live  some  of  our  most  choice  mem- 
bers: Langdon,  of  Columbia,  Green,  of  Carthage, 
Buckingham,  of  Miamisville,  and — ;  but  here  I  must 
stop,  or  give  a  list  of  worthies  who  live  there  and 
will  liv.e  forever.  Ever  since  we  have  had  charge 
of  societies  we  have  held  firmly  to  the  ministerial 
right  to  receive  into  the  Church  on  trial  such  as 
give  evidence  of  true  contrition.  We  have  held  to 
this  key  with  an  unconquerable  grip.  We  have 
sometimes  met  with  opposition  from  the  officiary  on 
this  point.  An  instance  of  this  kind  occurred, 
during  one  of  our  terms  on  this  circuit.  There  ap- 
peared in  our  community  a  strange  female  who 
earned  a  bare  support  by  washing.  It  was  reported 
that  she  had  been  seen  intoxicated  several  times  by 
the  wayside.  Several  temperance  lecturers  came 
out  of  Cincinnati,  and  held  a  series  of  meetings  in 
quick  succession.  This  woman  came  up,  among 
others,  and  took  the  pledge.  She  then  began  to 
attend  our  religious  meetings,  and  during  a  refresh- 
ing season  sought  and  obtained  religion.  She  ap- 
plied for  admission  into  the  Church.  The  difficulty 
was,  there  was  not  a  leader  that  would  have  her 
name  on  his  paper.  I  went  privately  to  a  young 
leader,  and  told  him  if  he  would  let  me  put  her 
name  on  the  bottom  of  his  class-book,  I  would 
pledge  myself  to  take  it  off  whenever  she  violated 
the  rules.  To  this  he  agreed,  supposing  he  would 


336  THE    CROSS. 

not  be  burdened  with  it  long.  She  had  heard  the 
Church  was  unwilling  to  receive  her,  and  the  first 
time  she  attended  class  she  meekly  observed  that 
she  was  not  surprised  or  hurt  by  the  Church  being 
unwilling  to  receive  her.  She  felt  deeply  that  she 
was  unworthy,  but  if  they  would  only  suffer  her  to 
come  inside  the  door,  where  she  could  hear  them 
sing,  pray,  and  talk  of  the  Savior,  it  was  all  she 
craved. 

From  that  day  she  was  an  example  of  piety, 
attending  all  her  meetings,  through  all  weathers, 
and  she  gradually  drew  on  the  respect  of  all,  inside 
and  outside  the  Church.  After  she  had  fully  estab- 
lished her  character  as  a  humble  Christian,  she 
came  down  one  day  to  the  parsonage,  with  a  bright 
countenance,  and  gave  me  a  full  account  of  her 
case,  from  which  I  gathered  the  following:  She  was 
brought  up  in  Kentucky,  and  was  a  happy  member 
of  a  pious,  happy  family.  There  was  regular 
preaching  in  her  father's  house;  but  when  her 
mother  died  her  father  married  a  woman  who  scat- 
tered the  family  like  a  tigress.  She  came  to  Ohio  in 
order  to  get  a  living  if  possible ;  but  exiled  from  all 
she  loved,  she  felt  lonely  and  abandoned.  In  that 
condition  she  had  indulged  in  spirits,  but  the  tem- 
perance lectures  had  fully  opened  her  eyes  to  the 
unfathomable  gulf  to  which  she  was  tending;  and 
having  learned  in  her  father's  house  where  there 
was  rest  for  her  soul,  she  sought  and  found  salva- 
tion. She  then  informed  me  she  had  just  received 


MADISONVILLE.  337 

a  letter  from  her  father,  to  whom  she  had  written 
after  she  was  converted,  and  he  informed  her  that 
her  step-mother  was  dead,  all  his  children  were 
gone,  he  was  old  and  infirm,  and  that  she  must 
return  and  take  care  of  him  in  his  old  age,  and  his 
property  should  be  hers  when  he  died.  She  felt  it 
was  her  duty  to  go,  but  thought,  as  she  had  been  a 
stranger  among  us,  it  would  be  best  to  leave  these 
particulars  with  the  preacher.  We  gave  her  a  letter, 
and  was  happy  to  hear,  some  time  after,  that  she 
was  with  her  father,  and  growing  in  grace  and  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord.  Now,  if  I  had  taken  the 
advice  of  the  officiary,  had  rejected  this  penitent, 
and  driven  her  back  to  perdition,  what  board  of 
leaders  could  have  answered  for  the  violation  of  my 
commission?  When  any  have  had  a  trial,  and 
proved  delinquent,  then  it  is  time  to  consult  with 
others  about  laying  them  aside.  Some  think  it  is 
scandalous  for  the  Church  to  try  to  save  one  whose 
former  life  has  been  shameful.  We  think  it  is  the 
proper  work  of  the  Church  below,  and  we  believe 
the  Church  triumphant  will  embrace  in  her  happy 
belt  too  many  reformed  prodigals,  to  blush  at  her 
past  mercy.  "But  the  world!  but  the  world!" 
Well,  to  many  of  these  it  may  still  be  said,  the 
publicans  and  harlots  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  before  you.  The  children  of  this  world 
would  do  well  to  "keep  their  breath  to  cool  their 
own  porridge." 

We  are  aware  that  as  a  Church  declines  in  apos- 
29 


THE    CROSS. 

tolic  grace,  she  will  gradually  be  driven  from  apos- 
tolic practice.  No  Church  ever  went  down  with  a 
surge.  We  will  make  no  noise  against  lay  delega- 
tion, but  when  it  comes  we  do  hope  that  the  preach- 
ers will  fence  in,  stronger  than  ever,  what  is  purely 
ministerial  right. 

We  had,  while  under  the  superintendence  of 
brother  Christie,  the  most  singular  meeting  we  ever 
saw  or  heard  of  before  or  since.  It  was  in  Bates's 
settlement.  The  meeting-house  on  Saturday  night 
was  crowded.  Brother  Parish  had  sung  and  prayed, 
and  was  just  about  to  read  his  text,  when  a  simul- 
taneous shout  from  nearly  all  the  Church  —  men, 
women,  and  children — broke  loose  like  a  tornado,  and 
continued  for  nearly  two  hours  by  the  elder's  watch. 
It  was  deafening.  Some  eight  or  ten  sinners  came 
tumbling  over  the  benches  and  fell  at  the  altar  cry- 
ing for  mercy;  but  several  fled  out  of  the  house 
and  cursed  like  privateersmen,  declaring  it  was  a 
concerted  scheme  of  the  Methodists  to  scare  them. 
There  might  be  a  division  of  this  question.  It  was 
no  concerted  plan;  but  that  they  were  badly  scared 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  In  the  midst  of  this  human 
storm  the  elder  requested  brother  Parish,  who  had 
a  powerful  voice,  to  slip  down  into  the  altar  and  try 
to  exhort  them.  This  he  attempted,  but  although 
we  were  leaning  over  him,  it  was  only  now  and  then 
that  we  could  understand  a  word.  He  soon  sunk 
exhausted.  As  soon  as  the  shouting  subsided  in  a 
measure  we  opened  the  door  of  the  Church  and 


MADISONVILLE. 


received  a  number.  Some  thought  this  would  be 
followed  by  a  general  revival;  but  the  whole  Ohio 
Conference  would  not  have  raised  such  another 
shout,  for  it  was  a  Church  remarkably  orderly. 


340  THE    CROSS. 


XXVI. 
WEST   UNION    CIRCUIT. 

1838.  THIS  circuit  was  a  part  of  the  old  Brush 
Creek  circuit,  and  as  such  was  an  old  acquaintance. 
Brother  J.  W.  Weakley  was  my  appointed  colleague. 
He  had  preached  but  one  sermon  before  he  came 
on,  but  he  improved  rapidly.  There  was  evidently 
a  good  feeling  getting  up  in  Eipley,  and  we  built 
much  hope  on  our  first  quarterly  meeting.  Brother 
Christie  came  on  in  bad  health,  so  that  he  had  to 
preach  sitting  in  a  chair.  We  made  several  efforts 
to  get  mourners  to  the  altar,  but  not  one  would 
come  forward.  It  at  last  struck  us  to  invite  sin- 
ners to  join  the  Church.  In  a  few  moments  the 
altar  was  surrounded.  At  every  succeeding  meet- 
ing we  would  try  to  prevail  on  them  to  come  to  the 
mourners'  bench;  but  all  in  vain.  As  soon  as  we 
would  open  the  door  of  the  Church  they  would  come 
in.  We  went  on  working  in  this  way  till  we  had 
received  several  scores.  Although  I  had  always 
believed  in  convicted  persons  joining  the  Church,  I 
was  a  little  alarmed  at  seeing  so  many  unconverted 
members  coming  in  at  one  time.  But  as  soon  as 
we  began  to  hold  social  prayer  meetings  around 
town,  persons  began  to  obtain  forgiveness,  and  we 


WEST    UNION    CIRCUIT.  341 

received  something  over  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
We  were  considerably  opposed  in  a  private  way. 
One  minister,  even,  went  into  Methodist  families, 
and  tried  to  proselyte.  A  lady  belonging  to  our 
Church  said, 

"Sir,  why  take  so  much  pains  to  turn  a  person 
from  one  Church  to  another — seeing,  if  we  get  to 
heaven,  there  will  be  no  Methodists,  no  Presby- 
terians?" 

"Indeed,  madam,  you  are  mistaken.  There  will 
be  Presbyterians  there — and  we  can  prove  it." 

"I  would  like  to  know  how." 

"Saint  John,  in  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  had  a  clear 
view  of  heaven,  and  he  saw  four-and-twenty  elders 
around  the  Throne.  Now  you  know  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  has  elders." 

"Bless  my  soul!  and  has  not  the  Methodist 
Church  got  a  plenty  of  elders — and  presiding  elders, 
in  the  bargain?" 

The  same  minister  seemed  to  be  exceedingly  un- 
easy at  the  continuance  of  the  meeting;  and,  while 
we  were  preaching  to  crowded  houses,  he  sent  a 
note  to  be  read,  that  there  would  be  a  meeting  of 
the  Temperance  Society,  at  the  other  church,  on  the 
next  night.  This  society  had  been  lately  organized, 
and  the  Methodists  had  taken  great  interest  in  it. 

When  I  received  this  notice  in  the  pulpit,  I 
handed  it  to  the  brother  who  was  going  to  preach, 
and  requested  him  to  read  it  distinctly,  before  he 
took  his  text.  While  he  was  preaching,  I  remem- 


342  THE    CROSS. 

bered  that  some  of  brother  William  Armstrong's 
children  had  requested  me  to  preach  a  sailor  ser- 
mon; and  then  I  thought,  "Be  ye  wise  as  serpents." 
Perhaps  the  minister  who  sent  the  notice  had  been 
digesting  the  same  command.  When  brother  Gad- 
dis,  who  was  on  a  visit,  had  finished  preaching  to 
the  children,  he  caught  several  young  folks.  This 
gave  occasion  to  some,  next  day,  to  say,  "The 
Methodists  are  'most  done,  they  caught  nothing 
last  night  but  minnows."  Before  the  meeting 
closed,  we  arose  and  observed,  that  some  of  the 
young  people  had  requested  me  to  preach  a  sea  ser- 
mon. I  concluded  that  I  would,  as  in  the  morning 
of  my  life  I  had  followed  the  seas,  and  it  was  pleas- 
ant for  me  to  take  a  cruise  now  and  then.  I  then 
opened  the  Bible  and  read,  as  my  text  for  the  next 
evening,  "They  that  go  down  to  the  seas  in  ships, 
and  do  business  in  the  great  deep,"  etc.  The  next 
day,  one  would  say  to  another, 

"Where  will  you  go,  to-night?" 

"0,  I  will  go  to  hear  about  those  who  go  down 
into  the  seas." 

At  night  our  house  was  crowded,  and  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Temperance  Society  was  there.  Our 
people  were  not  indifferent  about  temperance;  but 
they  did  not  like  it  as  a  cloak  for  bigotry;  and 
they  knew,  moreover,  that  the  Temperance  Society 
was  always  with  them,  but  times  of  refreshing  were 
transient. 

We  called  up  the  mourners,  after  preaching,  and 


WEST    UNION    CIECUIT.  343 

had  an  amazing  haul.  It  seemed  to  me  that  some 
of  the  tallest  and  most  bare-boned  folks  in  the  town 
rushed  forward.  One  Methodist  rose  up  on  a  bench, 
and,  turning  to  the  congregation,  said,  "See  here! 
Are  these  minnows  ?  No.  We  love  minnows.  But, 
look  here :  monsters !  whales  !  sea-serpents  !  Glory 
be  to  God!"  And  the  work  still  went. on. 

The  next  thrust  at  me  was  infamous.  A  country 
minister  told  a  large  congregation,  on  a  Sabbath, 
that  the  preacher  in  charge  of  West  Union  circuit, 
hearing  that  the  trustees  of  the  meeting-house  in 
Decatur  had  given  leave  to  an  abolition  lecturer  to 
use  the  house,  had  violently  taken  the  key  and  put 
it  in  his  pocket,  declaring  that  the  preachers  had  a 
sovereign  right  to  all  the  churches.  When  told  of 
this  announcement,  and  that  the  story  was  going 
the  rounds,  I  had  never  heard  that  any  one  had 
applied  to  the  trustees  for  the  house.  When  we  in- 
quired of  the  trustees,  they  said  that  they  had  prom- 
ised a  gentleman  the  use  of  the  house;  but  that  a 
report  had  gone  abroad,  that  the  friends  of  the  lec- 
turer intended  to  carry  private  arms,  and  this  re- 
port, whether  true  or  false,  had  exasperated  a  certain 
class,  and  they  were  determined  to  attend  under 
similar  circumstances.  So,  fearing  the  meeting- 
house would  become  a  place  of  slaughter,  they  had 
stopped  the  proceedings.  The  trustees  could  be 
qualified  that  this  was  done  in  my  absence,  and,  as 
far  as  they  knew,  I  was  innocent  of  the  whole  mat- 
ter. The  town  preacher  made  a  great  blow  about 


344'  THE    CROSS. 

this  matter,  and  I  authorized  a  friend  to  give  him 
the  right  version.  He  said,  "Then,  why  does  not 
Mr.  L.  appoint  a  time,  and  fully  explain  himself  on 
this  matter,  from  the  pulpit,  and  define  his  posi- 
tion?" I  knew  he  would  rather  hear  this  than  the 
Gospel,  particularly  if  it  would  get  us  all  by  the 
ears,  and  stop  our  revival. 

But  I  requested  the  friend  in  answer  to  this  to 
say,  that  I  regarded  the  pulpit  sacred  to  the  Gospel, 
and  the  Lord  had  called  me  to  preach  not  myself, 
but  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  and  myself  his  servant 
for  Jesus'  sake.  And  as  the  Lord  and  myself  knew 
that  the  report  was  false,  they  were  welcome  to 
handle  it  as  much  as  they  pleased,  provided  they 
would  do  themselves  no  harm.  Still  the  work  of  God 
went  on.  I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty,  in  the  light  of  the 
golden  rule,  to  visit  the  minister  who  was  circula- 
ting this  whole-cloth  slander  through  the  country. 
A  member  of  brother  Meek's  family  was  present  on 
one  occasion  when  he  entertained  his  congregation 
with  the  interesting  narrative.  Still  I  charitably 
hoped  that  he  had  been  imposed  on,  and  that  he 
would  like  to  be  disabused,  if  it  was  false.  He  had 
invited  me  some  time  before  to  visit  him,  in  virtue 
of  our  former  acquaintance  when  I  was  traveling 
Brush  Creek.  So  I  went  to  see  him,  but  not  with- 
out much  prayer.  He  invited  me  into  his  study, 
and  I  soon  opened  my  business  by  telling  him  that 
I  had  understood  that  he  had  used  my  name  in 
connection  with  the  trustees  of  Decatur  meeting- 


WEST    UNION    CIECUIT.  345 

house,  and  whatever  might  have  been  the  source  of 
his  information,  the  story  he  had  told  was  without 
any  foundation.  I  had  never  heard  it  till  it  came 
to  me  from  his  pulpit.  He  promptly  denied  the 
whole  matter.  I  then  asked  him  if  brother  Meek 
did  not  stop  him  as  he  passed  his  house,  coming 
from  that  meeting,  and  advise  him  not  to  repeat 
the  story,  as  he  knew  that  brother  L.  was  too  well 
acquainted  with  the  Discipline  to  assume  such 
authority  over  the  trustees;  and  although  he  had 
not  mentioned  it  to  him  as  yet,  he  knew  that  such 
a  procedure  was  entirely  contrary  to  his  whole 
character.  At  the  mention  of  Meek's  name  he  be- 
gan a  eulogy  on  him,  and  allowed  if  he  said  so, 
there  must  have  been  something  of  it.  Then  his 
face  grew  red,  and  he  said, 

"If  you  did  not  do  that,  you  have  done  worse, 
sir,  and  I  have  no  apology  to  make." 

"Well,  what  have  I  done  worse?  If  I  have 
stolen  or  murdered  let  me  answer  to  my  crimes; 
but  clear  me  of  what  I  have  not  done." 

"You  have  oppressed  the  African.  You  have  no 
mercy  for  him.  You  rivet  his  chains.  You  take 
away  his  Bible.  You  are  the  man  who  roused  up 
the  citizens  to  pelt  me  with  rotten  eggs,  as  I  passed 
through  the  other  day.  You  are  the  man  who  slips 
threatening  letters  under  my  door,  saying  you  will 
burn  up  me  and  my  house  if  I  do  not  renounce  my 
principles,  or  if  I  do  not  lodge  money  in  certain 
places,  and — " 


346  THE    CROSS. 

"Stop,  stop,  sir.  I  am  the  man  who  would  re- 
joice if  every  slave  in  the  nation  had  a  Bible  and 
could  read  it,  obey  it,  and  get  to  heaven.  This  is 
the  first  intelligence  I  have  had  of  your  being 
egged  in  passing  through  Decatur.  I  should  have 
certainly  heard  of  such  a  remarkable  circumstance 
if  it  had  happened.  And  take  care  how  you  talk 
of  me  and  secret  missives." 

Then  he  flew  into  a  fury,  and  cried  in  a  loud  but 
tremulous  voice,  stamping  his  feet,  at  every  repe- 
tition, "Begone!  begone!  begone!  Leave  me!  leave 
me!"  I  coolly  retired  toward  the  door  of  the  room. 
He  waddled  round  the  table,  following  me  through 
the  passage  with  "Begone!  leave  my  house."  I 
still  kept  my  eye  a  little  quartering,  expecting  a 
poop.  What  I  would  have  done  if  he  had  kicked 
me,  the  Lord  knows;  but  I  reached  the  street  in 
safety,  and  he  slammed  the  door  with  a  noise  that 
resounded  through  the  whole  castle.  It  was  some- 
thing singular  that  although  till  this  time  I  had  all 
the  tranquillity  that  I  had  prayed  for,  yet  I  had 
not  walked  fifty  yards  before  I  felt  my  fists  coiling 
up,  and  my  feet  in  stays,  and  something  seemed  to 
say,  why  did  you  not  knock  the  lubber  over?  You 
could  have  slapped  him  to  the  floor.  Then  I  found 
that  prayer  after  meat  was  necessary  as  well  as  be- 
fore. When  I  told  my  adventure  to  some  of  our 
leading  men,  they  wondered  that  I  went  to  see  him 
at  all.  They  said  he  had  some  sense  on  ordinary 
subjects,  but  we  have  found  him  perfectly  insane 


WEST    UNION    CIECUIT.  347 

on  his  favorite  theme.  One  of  our  stewards,  a 
plain,  serious  man,  told  me  lie  had  carried  a  cow- 
hide under  his  skirts  during  a  whole  day  to  give 
him  a  thrashing  wherever  he  might  find  him;  but 
when  he  got  a  little  cool,  he  said,  "Why  should  I 
whip  a  crazy  man?"  His  conduct  to  me  was  unac- 
countable, as  I  had  never  interfered  with  his 
"Jinny  Quockisan"  while  on  the  circuit.  The 
secret  "letters"  I  understood  were  written  by  one 
of  his  own  household  for  fun — a  kind  of  "Monsieur 
Tonson"  affair.  One  day  a  genteel-looking  negro 
approached  some  of  us,  craving  help  to  purchase  his 
wife.  He  had  letters  from  well-known  citizens  of 
Maysville,  and  we  judged  from  his  documents  and 
his  honest  carriage  that  he  was  worthy.  We 
pointed  to  the  stately  mansion  of  our  zealous  minis- 
ter, and  advised  him  to  apply  there,  for  the  owner 
was  a  great  friend  of  the  African. 

"0,  massa,  he  too  conscientious!" 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"Why,  I  done  gone  to  see  him." 

"What  did  he  say?" 

"Why,  he  argufy  that  if  he  give  me  a  dime  to 
buy  my  wife,  den,  y'see,  he  trade  in  human  flesh 
and  blood,  and  dat  is  de  thing  he  preaches  against — 
he  conscience  entirely  too  tender,  massa." 

Years  upon  years  rolled  away,  even  unto  green 
old  age,  when  being  stationed  in  a  town  on  the 
Ohio,  as  I  was  about  to  cross  the  muddy  street  on 
a  narrow  gangway,  there  appeared  at  the  opposite 


348  THE    CROSS. 

end  a  stately,  venerable  gentleman,  coming  from  the 
other  side.  There  had  been  a  report  for  several 
days  that  the  President  was  coming  down  the  river 
on  a  Western  tour,  and  as  the  gentleman  approach- 
ing was  not  of  our  river-eel  type,  I  said  to  myself, 
"Surely,  here  he  is  as  large  as  life;"  and  I  stepped 
aside  in  the  mud,  as  in  duty  bound — rendering  unto 
Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's.  And  I  was  de- 
termined to  take  a  good  look,  as  it  was  my  only 
chance.  As  he  came  up,  he  rolled  his  large  eyes 
on  me,  committed  a  smile,  and  said, 

"Surely,  this  is  my  old  friend,  L.  My  name 
is  B." 

So  it  was,  and  we  entered  into  a  pleasant  conver- 
sation; but  in  the  most  interesting  part,  conscience 
stirred  up  in  her  lair,  and  he  said, 

"  Look  here,  L. !  did  n't  we  once  have  some  kind 
of  a  stir  round — he — it  seems  almost  like  a  dream; 
but  I  came  across  a  humorous  piece  in  the  Advo- 
cate, written  by  you,  and  it  so  pleased  me  that  I 
forgave  all — so  we  11  let  old  matters  pass." 

Amen!  Pass  on,  brother  B.;  may  we  meet  in 
heaven ! 

The  Methodists  got  up  a  school  in  Indiana,  and 
solicited  my  colleague  to  take  charge  of  it.  To  this 
I  was  opposed.  I  believed  it  would  be  better  for 
him  and  the  Church  for  him  to  continue  in  the  itin- 
erancy. I  believe  he  thought  so  too;  but  by  the 
force  of  circumstances  he  was  taken  away.  I  know 
that  he  has  since  filled  his  vocation  with  honor  and 


WEST    UNION    CIKCTTIT.  349 

credit;  but  what  is  it  to  what  he  might  have 
done? 

Brother  Oliver  Williams  was  put  in  his  place. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  innocent  and  devoted  young 
ministers  of  that  day.  He  rode  a  few  years  in  the 
work  when  alarming  symptoms  of  derangement 
began  to  appear.  His  friends  hoping  that  by  a 
scientific  treatment  of  the  disease  by  physicians 
practiced  in  such  complaints,  he  might  be  restored, 
carried  him  to  Columbus.  But  vain  was  the  help 
of  man.  The  Lord  took  him  to  his  people's  rest. 
Some  think  it  strange  that  a  child  of  God  should 
be  suffered  to  lose  his  reason.  But  when  we  reflect 
that  insanity  comes  by  natural  or  accidental  causes 
that  are  common  to  all  men,  so  that  the  Lord,  in 
preventing  it  in  special  cases,  would  have  to  exercise 
miraculous  power;  and  when  we  consider,  moreover, 
that  he  has  pledged  himself  to  his  people  to  save 
them  in  their  afflictions,  and  not  to  preserve  them 
from  the  natural  ills  of  this  life;  that  although  he 
may  suffer  them  to  pass  through  the  waters,  the 
waves  shall  not  overwhelm  them,  or  to  pass  through 
the  fire,  the  flame  shall  not  destroy  them,  we  may 
well  have  hope  for  the  pious  amid  all  the  ravings 
of  insanity. 

In  almost  all  cases  where  Christians  have  been 
demented  and  subsequently  restored,  they  awake  as 
out  of  an  unconscious  state.  I  read  a  beautiful 
illustration  of  this:  A  young  man  became  serious, 
and  was  diligently  seeking  religion.  He  suddenly 


350  THE    CROSS. 

lost  his  reason.  His  pious  parents  were  deeply 
afflicted,  and  especially  afflicted  because  they  had  no 
evidence  of  his  justification  before  this  misfortune. 
The  doctor,  however,  told  them  he  thought  it  was  a 
case  arising  out  of  malconformation  of  the  cranium, 
which  caused  a  pressure  on  the  brain;  and  if  this 
was  the  case  he  might  be  restored  at  the  period  of 
life  when  the  fullness  of  youth  began  to  decline. 
The  parents  anxiously  watched  him  for  years,  and 
when  the  period  that  the  physician  spoke  of  arrived, 
he  gradually  recovered  his  senses.  It  was  noticed 
that  he  was  of  a  new  disposition,  full  of  meekness 
and  love  to  God  and  all  mankind.  When  he  suffi- 
ciently recovered  his  recollection  he  stated  that  the 
last  thing  which  he  knew  before  the  unconscious 
parenthesis  through  which  he  'had  passed  was,  that 
while  struggling  for  mercy  he  was  powerfully 
blessed — overwhelmed  —  and  knew  no  more.  How 
strangely  did  the  Lord  preserve  him!  Christ  has 
said,  "My  grace  is  sufficient."  Sufficient  for  what? 
For  the  most  stupendous  ills  that  sin  has  made. 
We  never  had  any  uneasy  thoughts  about  the 
eternal  state  of  our  beloved  brother  Oliver.  View- 
ing the  subject  in  the  above  light,  we  have  a  most 
potent  argument  why  every  man  should  make  his 
peace  with  God,  lest  that  awful  day  of  darkness 
should  suddenly  overtake  him  in  his  sins. 

This  was  the  only  appointment,  as  far  as  I  know, 
that  the  devil  or  any  of  his  agents  procured  for  me. 
In  saying  this  we  do  not  call  in  question  the  purity 


WEST    UNION    CIRCUIT.  351 

of  the  bishops  or  my  presiding  elder.  They  made 
the  appointment  in  good  faith,  and,  as  we  learned, 
under  the  impression  of  a  request;  and  I  paid  for 
it  in  current  money.  Neither  do  we  cast  any  re- 
flection on  the  circuit.  We  were  old  friends,  but  I 
objected  to  the  fraud  that  an  outsider  played.  We 
mention  the  circumstance  for  the  consideration  of 
young  preachers.  In  the  morning  of  my  ministry  I 
received  my  appointments  with  both  hands,  as 
though  sliding  right  down  from  heaven.  In  later 
years  I  allowed  some  appointments  were  only  by  the 
permissive  will  of  Heaven,  and  some  through  the 
secret  treachery  of  wicked  men.  Still,  the  Lord 
will  cause  all  things  to  work  together  for  good  to 
those  who  are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose. 
This  year  we  received  more  than  two  hundred 
members,  according  to  our  account;  and  after 
assorting  the  fish  for  twelve  months,  and  mending 
the  old  net%  the  Minutes  gave  us  an  increase  of  one 
hundred  and  fifteen.  The  devil  sent  John  to  the 
Isle  of  Patmos,  where  it  was  supposed  he  could  do 
nothing;  but  in  that  dreary  solitude  he  exposed  his 
whole  programme  through  succeeding  ages — down  to 
the  bottomless  pit.  So  let  us  go  to  all  our  appoint- 
ments, come  whence  they  may;  we  are  not  ac- 
countable for  the  making  of  them.  Still,  long-suf- 
fering itself  has  its  periods  and  stops,  and  lest  the 
devil  should  take  an  advantage  of  me,  I  determined 
not  to  return.  So  at  the  last  quarterly  meeting  I 
raised  a  breeze  among  the  trustees  of  the  parsonage. 


352  THE    CKOSS. 

I  showed  Christie  and  the  conference  that  they  held 
a  little  log-house,  with  one  room  and  a  garret,  which 
they  called  a  parsonage  in  order  to  meet  the  letter 
of  the  Discipline.  If  the  preacher  said  it  was  a 
miserable  shanty,  they  said  "  no,  it  is  our  parsonage, 
and  if  you  are  too  proud  to  go  into  it,  you  can 
rent,  at  your  own  expense,  as  the  Discipline  directs." 
A  warm  debate  followed,  which  resulted  in  some  of 
them  acknowledging  that  it  was  a  piece  of  barba- 
rism that  they  were  ashamed  of;  and  my  successors 
got  a  place  "where  to  lay  their  heads." 


FKANKLINTON    CIRCUIT.  353 


XXVII. 

FRANKLINTON  AND  CIRCLEVILLE 
CIRCUITS. 

1839.  THIS  circuit  was  somewhat  diverse  from 
any  that  I  had  traveled,  both  in  its  geographical 
and  social  characters.  It  embraced  a  wide  range 
of  barrens,  and  was  eminently  suited  for  cattle. 
We  would  often  ride  along  a  fence  two  or  three 
miles  in  extent,  and  some  of  the  graziers  possessed 
several  thousand  acres  of  land  in  a  body.  This 
made  the  country  extremely  inconvenient  for  schools 
and  churches.  A  stranger  would  judge  the  land  to 
be  poor,  from  the  scrubby  character  of  the  oaks. 
But  this,  it  is  said,  has  been  produced  by  the  an- 
nual fires  which  swept  over  these  plains  before  the 
settlement.  The  land  is  good.  We  had  no  revival 
on  this  appointment;  and  we  doubt  whether  there 
has  ever  been  one  of  much  note.  The  materials 
are  rather  obdurate.  One  part — the  wealthy  gra- 
ziers— are  genteel,  polite,  and  generous;  they  will 
give  largely  for  building  meeting-houses,  and  sup- 
porting the  preachers;  they  will  attend  meetings 
regularly,  and  behave  with  as  much  decorum  in  the 
house  of  God  as  members  of  the  Church — and  the 

preacher  thinks  he  will  get  them  before  the  year  is 
30 


354  THE    CROSS. 

up.  But  he  is  mistaken.  He  will  get  some  nice 
hams,  butter,  flour,  coffee,  and  sometimes  money — 
as  much  as  five  dollars  at  the  time — as  presents; 
but  their  souls  are  their  own,  and  they  are  con- 
firmed infidels.  I  attended  a  wedding  one  evening, 
at  one  of  their  houses.  The  old  gentleman  invited 
me  into  his  private  room,  and  conversed  freely  with 
me  about  the  affairs  of  the  Church.  About  supper- 
time  there  was  a  considerable  buzz  among  the  large 
company  of  young  folks  below ;  but  when  the  patri- 
arch made  his  appearance  they  were  all  as  still  as 
mice.  And,  later  in  the  evening,  when  much  hilar- 
ity prevailed  in  the  hall,  when  the  old  man  ap- 
peared, and  gave  the  signal  for  prayer,  all  was  still. 
Every  one  rose  and  joined  in  singing,  and  every 
one  kneeled  in  prayer.  When  we  retired  again,  I 
looked  at  the  gentleman.  His  external  appearance 
was  so  venerable — the  order  of  his  household  so 
correct — I  began  to  think  that  he  might  be  a 
Christian,  or  that  he  might  be  partially  sanctified 
by  his  Methodist  wife;  but  he  broke  my  reverie  by 
saying : 

"Mr.  L.,  why  does  your  Church  make  such 
efforts  to  send  missionary  preachers  to  the  In- 
dians?" 

"To  Christianize  them,  sir." 

"But  there  is  no  necessity  for  this.  I  was  in  this 
country  in  Indian  times,  and  I  assure  you  that 
their  morals  are  superior  even  to  ours.  They 
are  men  of  truth.  I  could  depend  on  their  verbal 


FEANKLINTON    CIRCUIT.  355 

promise  with  more  confidence  than  I  can  on  the 
bond  of  a  white  man;  and  I  think  their  religion  is 
of  a  superior  order." 

I  directed  him  to  certain  passages  of  the  Bible — 
but  I  found  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the  Bible, 
and  that  he  was  an  immovable  infidel. 

These  rich  graziers  are  called,  by  way  of  distinc- 
tion, "Short- Horns"  The  gentleman  to  whom  I 
refer,  would  attend  our  meeting,  like  others  of  his 
class,  and  would  not  venture  to  breathe  any  doubt 
of  Christianity  before  his  hands  or  tenants.  What- 
ever they  may  think  of  Christianity,  they  admit 
that  the  preaching  of  it  is  calculated  to  keep  the 
lower  class  in  bounds.  The  Short-Horns  fare,  like 
the  rich  man,  sumptuously  every  day — for  they  say 
they  know  not  when  company  may  come  upon 
them.  They  are  very  hospitable;  but  it  is  consid- 
ered a  miracle  of  miracles  for  one  of  them  to  get 
converted.  Some  of  their  children,  however,  joined 
us.  The  next  class,  the  tenants,  generally  have  no 
fear  of  God  before  their  eyes,  and  very  few  of  them 
are  ever  found  at  meeting.  The  tradesmen,  and 
owners  of  agricultural  farms,  are,  many  of  them,  in 
the  Church,  and  accessible  to  the  Gospel;  but  all 
are  a  scattered  people,  and  it  is  with  difficulty  they 
can  attend  church  in  bad  weather.- 

The  population  is  very  light-spirited,  and  even 
the  girls  are  given  to  horse-racing,  fox-hunting,  and 
daring  horsemanship,  leaping  fences,  and  swimming 
creeks  and  rivers.  It  is  true,  the  Methodist  girls 


356  THE    CROSS. 

are  easily  distinguished  from  the  mass,  having  sac- 
rificed these  pleasures;  but  when  they  come  to  the 
quarterly  meetings,  you  may  see,  by  the  way  they 
hold  their  loaded  horsewhips,  and  give  them  an  oc- 
casional smack,  as  they  pass  along,  that  they  have 
known  something  of  the  turf.  They  are  Christians, 
but  very  blithe  and  buoyant  Christians. 

The  best  appointment  on  this  circuit  was  on  the 
Scioto,  above  Franklinton,  on  the  very  ground 
where  we  had  that  revival  on  the  Columbus  cir- 
cuit, where  Arianism  once  prevailed.  The  most  of 
the  members  with  whom  we  had  met,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  our  ministry,  had  passed  into  their  rest. 
A  number  of  members  from  the  East  had  settled 
in  that  region,  and  built  up  a  large  and  respectable 
meeting-house.  They  were  intelligent  and  liberal. 
Some  paid  from  five  to  ten  dollars,  annually,  to  the 
Missionary  Society,  but  their  peculiar  strength  in 
supporting  the  Gospel  was  in  every  one  giving 
something.  The  last  time  I  preached  to  them,  they 
presented  me  a  very  generous  bonus.  Perhaps  we 
may  never  meet  them  again  in  this  world.  May 
we  all  meet  in  heaven! 

My  colleague  was  Jeremiah  Hill,  a  young  man 
of  very  promising  talents,  both  as  a  preacher  and  a 
writer.  We  had  a  remarkably-pleasant  time  in 
working  together.  At  one  of  our  quarterly  meet- 
ings brother  Jacob  Young,  in  preaching  on  "Come, 
let  us  go  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,  to  the  house 
of  the  God  of  Jacob,"  became  quite  fanciful  in 


FEANKLINTON    CIRCUIT.  357 

explaining  by  faith  the  missionary  fields  of  futurity. 
Yes,  he  saw,  in  his  imagination,  Alfred  M.  Lorrain 
in  Arabia,  walking  among  the  tents  of  the  Arabi- 
ans, with  his  Bible  in  one  hand  and  his  hymn-book 
in  the  other,  saying,  "Come,  let  us  go  up  to  the 
house  of  the  Lord."  Then  he  'saw  Jeremiah  Hill 
in  Africa,  among  the  krawls  of  the  Hottentots,  say- 
ing, "Come,  let  us  go  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord." 
I  looked  at  Jeremiah  and  saw  his  face  unusually 
red,  and  I  found  out  that,  although  an  ultra  aboli- 
tionist, he  did  not  like  at  all  to  be  stationed  among 
the  Hottentots.  But  the  elder  rose  higher  and 
higher  at  the  thought,  and  the  congregation  looked 
as  though  on  the  verge  of  the  millennium.  This 
pious,  gifted  colleague  of  mine  soon  passed  away  to 
brighter  worlds  on  high.  I  never  knew  age  with 
grace  to  do  so  much  for  any  man  as  they  did  for 
our  highly-esteemed  elder,  Jacob  Young.  He  was 
my  elder  when  I  started,  and  he  was  in  the  prime 
of  life.  Then  he  was  a  doctrinal,  argumentative, 
and  instructive  minister,  but  as  dry  as  a  chip.  In 
his  latter  days  his  ministrations  were  melodiously 
melting,  and  full  of  grace  and  love.  I  am  glad  he 
lived  so  long.  Still  he  was  sometimes  a  little  short. 
While  he  was  a  widower  he  often  stopped  with  us, 
and  was  a  great  favorite  in  the  family.  On  one 
occasion  several  of  the  members  called  to  see  him, 
and  he  was  giving  his  opinion  on  a  favorite  subject. 
After  a  while  he  made  a  long  pause,  and  thinking 
he  had  ended  his  "say,"  I  began  to  take  up  the 


358  THE    CROSS. 

parable.  He  turned  round,  and  said,  "Brother  L., 
just  hush — stop  talking — is  it  come  to  this,  that 
old  folks  can  not  talk  without  being  interrupted  by 
the  young?"  As  this  was  before  some  of  my  par- 
ishioners, I  felt  a  blush  flash  over  my  face,  and 
gave  a  very  polite  apology,  stating  that  I  supposed 
he  had  ceased  speaking.  I  saw  that  his  hasty 
remark  troubled  him.  As  he  rode  home  he  went 
several  miles  to  see  my  colleague.  When  brother 
Hill  saw  me  again,  he  said,  "What  did  you  do  to 
our  elder  when  he  was  last  with  you,  that  you  are 
placed  up  so  high  in  his  estimation?  He  came 
several  miles  to  see  me,  and  staid  only  a  little 
while,  but  all  his  talk  was  a  eulogy  on  A.  M.  L., 
and  he  finally  concluded  you  were  the  greatest 
gentleman  in  the  Ohio  Conference."  I  told  him  the 
good  brother  had — hastily — insulted  me,  and  I  sup- 
pose he  thought  it  would  be  too  much  to  make 
amends  in  person,  and  had  taken  that  opportunity 
to  do  it  by  proxy.  He  grew  more  and  more  de- 
voted to  his  favorite  calling,  and  has  gone  up  on 
high,  like  a  ripe  ear,  to  swell  the  garner  of  his 

Lord.     0,  may  I  be  a  partaker  of  that  bliss ! 

%. '  -  f 

CIRCLEVILLE     CIRCUIT. 

1840-1.  On  this  circuit  I  was  in  connection  with 
brother  T.  A.  Gr.  Phillips.  Although  each  of  us 
had  our  own  share  in  the  variety  that  marks  the 
Methodist  ministry,  yet  we  were  happily  yoked  to- 
gether. Soon  after  we  commenced  our  labors  a 


CIRCLEVILLE     CIRCUIT. 

Divine  influence  seemed  to  pervade  the  circuit;  and 
although  we  sent  messengers  to  crave  help  of  each 
other,  yet  we  both  had  our  hands  full.  We,  how- 
ever, sometimes  got  together.  My  colleague  had 
been  carrying  on  a  good  work  in  Kingston  when 
I  came  to  his  assistance.  One  night,  supposing  the 
times  favorable,  I  hoisted  all  sail  and  took  a  cruise. 
Our  meeting-house  doors  were  each  side  of  the  pul- 
pit, and  what  some  called  the  devil's  half  acre  was 
abaft  the  congregation.  As  we  began  to  make 
land  under  cheering  circumstances,  I  exhorted  the 
mourners  to  come  on  while  I  was  yet  preaching, 
and  began  to  portray  the  awful  shipwreck  of  the 
soul  on  the  iron-bound  shores  of  eternal  damnation ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  bursting  of  timber,  the  crash 
of  masts,  the  thunder  of  parting  bolts  and  sweeping 
breakers,  the  sinners  made  almost  a  general  rush 
toward  us.  One  stream  down  each  aisle  shot 
through  the  door,  like  thunder,  and  the  other 
stream  dropped  around  the  altar,  and  cried  for 
mercy.  My  colleague  braced  right  up  to  the  wind, 
till  he  saw  what  was  the  nature  of  the"  coming 
hosts,  and  then  he  sprang  into  the  altar,  opening 
an  awful  broadside  that  seemed  to  make  the  moral 
atmosphere  shake.  In  going  round  he  saw  a  wick- 
ed tavern-keeper  down  on  his  beam  ends,  and  he 
cried  out,  "Salvation!  here's  the  devil's  own  major- 
general  down  on  his  bends!"  We  made  a  great 
haul  before  we  were  done.  One  thing  is  worthy  of 
remark:  this  work  was  in  the  midst  of  the  most 


360  THE    CROSS. 

exciting  political  canvass  we  ever  had ;  and  although 
we  both  avoided  the  stump,  through  grace,  yet 
every  man,  who  came  through,  came  out  on  the 
right  political  side.  The  two  parties,  which  then 
were,  are  dissolved,  and  it  might  be  no  offense  to 
say  which  was  the  right  side;  but  lest  we  might 
turn  up  some  latent  spark,  we  simply  say  the  right 
side;  and  if  you,  reader,  were  on  the  right  side, 
then  they  came  out  on  your  side.  A  wicked  poli- 
tician, hearing  this,  said,  he  would  to  God  all 
the  world  would  get  converted. 

But  whether  we  worked  together  or  singly,  the 
Word  of  the  Lord  had  free  course.  A  society  at 
one  end  of  the  circuit  requested  me  to  give  them 
preaching  for  one  week.  I  began  Monday  night,  and 
continued  through  the  next  Sunday  without  any  min- 
isterial help,  excepting  one  sermon  on  the  Sabbath. 
We  took  in  about  fifty  members.  There  was  one  sin- 
gular circumstance  connected  with  this;  I  did  not 
preach  at  all  to  my  own  satisfaction,  and  sometimes 
found  it  hard  work.  When  I  looked  at  the  effects  I 
was  astonished.  I  was  astonished  at  the  work  in  con- 
nection with  the  paucity  of  the  means.  While  on  this 
subject  I  will  add,  that  on  a  certain  occasion  I  was 
traveling  to  Cincinnati  in  company  with  a  preacher ; 
we  concluded  to  stop  at  a  camp  meeting  on  the 
road,  and  feed.  While  there  they  put  me  up  to 
preach.  I  felt  greatly  in  the  brush,  and  thought 
my  sermon  entirely  out  of  place.  It  was  on  sancti- 
fication.  About  fifteen  years  after,  I  fell  in  com- 


.     CIRCLEVILLE     CIECUIT.  361 

pany  with  a  brother  who  asked  if  I  was  not  at  that 
camp  meeting,  and  if'  I  did  not  preach  on  such  a 
text.  I  told  him  I  did,  but  thought  it  was  poor 
preaching.  "Well,"  added  he,  "I  wanted  to  tell 
you  that  that  sermon  was  salvation  to  me."  An- 
other singularity  to  offset  this  is,  I  have  sometimes 
preached  when  there  was  no  sign  of  external  good, 
when  my  own  soul  was  overwhelmed  with  the  sub- 
ject; when  it  has  appeared  to  me  as  if  grace  and 
peace  have  flowed  out  in  a  circle  and  returned  into 
my  own  bosom,  in  good  measure,  pressed  down  and 
running  over.  Almost  four  hundred  souls  on  this 
circuit  professed  religion  that  year.  Numbers  of 
them  belonged  to  the  Church,  as  seekers,  for  years, 
but  this  revival  brought  them  through.  I  continued 
on  the  circuit  another  year,  and  our  societies  were 
blessed  and  edified.  On  the  last  year  I  had  two 
very  severe  spells  of.  sickness,  and  it  was  reported 
in  some  places  that  I  had  died.  Dr.  Brown  waited 
on  me  with  all  the  tender  solicitude  of  a  brother, 
and  when  I  called  upon  him  for  my  bill,  which  I 
expected  would  be  heavy,  and  justly  so  in  view  of 
his  untiring  services,  he  smiled,  and  said,  "Nothing 
at  all."  Some  of  our  leading  members  said  he 
should  lose  nothing,  for  they  would  promote  his 
practice  as  much  as  was  in  their  power.  A  few 
months  after  I  left  I  was  rejoiced  to  hear  he  had 
embraced  religion,  and  joined  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  All  the  doctors  called  to  see  me  in  my 

illness,   and   said,  if  at  any  time  Dr.   Brown   was 

31 


362  THE     CEOSS. 

absent,  it  would  give  them  pleasure  to  wait  on  me. 
The  apothecary  was  equally  generous  in  his  depart- 
ment. I  can  never  forget  the  tender  care  with 
which  I  was  watched  over  by  the  young  brethren 
in  the  Church  by  night  and  day.  When  my  last 
spell  of  sickness  was  arrested  I  could  not  hold  a 
pen  in  my  fingers  so  firmly  as  to  write.  My  mind 
was  enfeebled  as  much  as  my  body,  and  in  the 
utter  absence  of  all  appetite,  I  concluded  I  would 
never  engage  again  in  the  useless  and  dirty  work 
of  eating.  I  argued  that  there  was  substance 
enough  in  water  to  sustain  life,  and  thought  if  I 
could  be  only  settled  down  by  a  clear  spring,  I 
would  ask  no  more.  I  continued  in  this  way  till 
my  wife  had  serious  apprehensions  that  I  would  die 
with  starvation.  One  day  some  of  the  brethren 
brought  a  large  fish  they  had  caught  in  the  Scioto. 
When  I  saw  this  a  kind  of  recollection  of  past 
agreeable  acquaintance  induced  me  to  taste  a  piece, 
then  my  appetite  returned  at  once,  like  a  cataract. 
Three  weeks  embraces  the  amount  of  time  that  I 
have  been  detained  from  my  work  by  sickness  in 
the  course  of  forty  years.  I  have  had  considerable 
sickness,  but  not  of  such  a  nature  as  to  lay  me  up. 
About  this  time  Bishop  Hamline,  who  was  then 
editor  of  the  Repository,  solicited  me  to  write  for 
that  monthly.  I  was  surprised  that  he  should 
make  such  a  request  of  me,  but  in  explanation  he 
said  that  none  of  those  on  whom  he  had  principally 
relied  would  come  to  his  help,  and  he  was  almost 


CIRCLEVILLE    CIRCUIT.  363 

alone  in  the  work.  I  complied  with  his  request, 
and  contributed  to  that  magazine  for  several  years, 
and  till  the  literati  came  to  its  succor,  and  I  found 
the  editors  were  furnished  with  more  material  than 
they  could  manage. 

The  great  centenary  celebration  came  on  while 
we  were  on  this  circuit.  On  that  day  I  preached 
to  an  overflowing  congregation,  in  Circleville,  on 
"The  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but 
mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong- 
holds." And  my  colleague  and  myself  raised  a 
subscription  of  about  thirteen  hundred  dollars,  in 
cash,  land,  etc.,  on  the  circuit.  The  enthusiasm  of 
the  Methodists  on  that  occasion  was  grand;  indeed, 
the  Church  there  was  in  that  day  called,  faithful, 
and  chosen ;  and  we  hope  they  have  not  degenerated. 


364  THE    CROSS. 


XXVIII. 
URBANA   STATION. 

1842.  MY  next  circuit  was  London.  The  first 
part  of  the  year  the  weather  was  open,  and  the 
long  roads  were  very  muddy.  I  had  a  little  horse 
that  was  as  active  as  a  deer,  and  it  would  have 
puzzled  the  ingenuity  of  man  to  trip  him.  How- 
ever, the  creature  had  a  hard  gait,  and  splashed 
the  mud  about  like  a  beaver,  so  that,  often,  on  my 
return  home,  horse  and  man  would  look  as  if  they 
were  lathed  and  plastered. 

About  this  time  I  was  taken  with  an  affliction  in 
my  loins,  which  has  been  like  a  thorn  in  my  flesh  ever 
since,  and  has  compelled  me  finally  to  cease  riding. 
While  it  has  been  wasting  me  away,  my  external 
appearance  has  been  robust  and  healthy. 

I  was  now  so  worn  out  that  it  appeared  I  could 
ride  no  longer.  In  my  distress  I  wept,  and  called 
on  the  Lord.  One  cold,  rainy  day,  as  I  was  riding 
home  through  the  mud,  after  hard  labor,  I  saw  a 
person  riding  toward  me,  with  his  head  braced 
against  the  storm.  As  he  passed  he  handed  me  a 
letter.  It  was  from  my  presiding  elder,  and  directed 
me  to  remove,  as  soon  as  I  could,  to  Urbana.  This 
I  gladly  received  as  an  express  call  from  above.  I 


URBANA    STATION. 

was  not  glad  because  I  was  going  to  exchange  my 
circuit  for  a  station  merely.  The  London  circuit  at 
that  time  was  a  good  circuit  for  any  one  in  perfect 
health.  The  brethren  had  liberally  supplied  my 
table,  stable,  and  wood-yard,  and  it  was  not  neces- 
sary to  lay  out  much  money.  Still,  in  my  gloomy 
moments,  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  people  cared  but 
little  about  me.  They  were  a  prudent  people,  and 
were  not  given  to  flattery.  It  is  said,  in  order  to 
get  a  good  name  a  man  should  die;  and  I  would 
have  never  known  the  estimate  that  the  Church  in 
London  had  placed  on  me,  had  not  my  ministerial 
term  so  suddenly  expired.  As  soon  as  my  orders 
were  known,  there  was  almost  a  general  insurrection 
against  my  elder.  Some  of  the  leading  men  said 
they  would  not  let  me  go,  unless  I  would  promise, 
as  soon  as  I  could,  to  come  and  ride  their  circuit 
again.  I  told  them  I  did  not  choose  my  places,  for 
that  was  contrary  to  Methodism ;  but  if  the  bishops 
should  appoint  me  there  again,  I  would  cheerfully 
come — so  I  would.  Again,  I  was  not  glad  of  the 
providence  that  led  to  my  removal.  The  health  of 
brother  Christie,  which  had  been  waning  for  some 
time,  was  about  exhausted.  With  tottering  steps 
he  would  ascend  the  pulpit  in  Urbana,  against  the 
expostulations  of  his  best  friends.  He  would  begin 
his  services  in  a  feeble  voice;  but,  gathering  inter- 
est and  animation  in  his  subject,  his  eyes  would 
flash  up,  his  nerves  tighten,  and  he  would  pour 
forth  his  eloquence  in  his  wonted  volume  of  voice, 


366  THE    CROSS. 

as  in  days  gone  by.  Having  the  consumption,  he 
appeared  to  be  entirely  insensible  of  the  near- 
ness of  his  death.  A  Presbyterian  brother  visited 
him  in  the  parsonage,  and  spoke  of  his  rapid  de- 
cline, and  made  some  religious  remarks  on  his 
removal,  very  soon,  to  the  spirit-land.  When  he 
retired,  Christie  looked  round  with  a  smile,  and 
said,  "  That  good  brother  thinks  he  knows  all  about 
my  complaint."  When  he  determined  to  visit  his 
friends  in  Cincinnati,  he  was  so  feeble  that  the 
brethren  had  made  arrangements  to  send  a  friend 
to  drive.  This  he  would  not  listen  to;  he  felt  all- 
sufficient  for  the  journey.  He  could  not  drive  far, 
and  his  wife,  who  had  never  been  accustomed  to 
horses,  had  to  take  the  reins,  although  she  had  a 
young  child.  When  told  by  his  brother-in-law,  an 
experienced  physician,  that  death  was  upon  him,  he 
seemed  to  be  surprised — but  in  a  few  moments  ob- 
served that  he  was  ready,  and  thanked  God  that  he 
had  not  preached  an  unfelt  Savior.  He  died 
calmly,  resigned,  happy. 

It  was  something  of  a  cross  to  follow  immediately 
this  seraphic  minister;  and  the  people,  doubtless, 
felt  the  change,  but  they  were  too  good  to  let  me 
know  it;  and  I  preached  here  nearly  two  years 
more  with  improving  congregations.  Brother  Chris- 
tie had  a  most  extraordinary  revival,  both  as  it  re- 
garded numbers  and  its  singular  type.  We  hardly 
know  whether  the  word  revival  is  suitable,  as  the 
work  was  almost  altogether  among  the  irreligious, 


UKBANA    STATION.  367 

while  the  Church  was  comparatively  in  a  lifeless 
state,  and  receiving  so  many  converts  into  the 
Church  was  like  putting  a  live  child  into  the  arms 
of  a  dead  mother.  We  often  heard  the  members 
conversing  about  that  work,  and  wondering  at  it. 
When  mourners  were  called  to  the  altar,  they  would 
come  promptly  and  in  crowds.  The  members  would 
stand  back  amazed,  and  the  heaviest  work  of  the 
preacher  was  to  persuade  them  to  the  work.  Al- 
though they  had  generally  been  a  working  Church, 
yet  they  had  to  be  almost  compelled  to  come  up. 
One  of  the  leaders — about  the  best  leader  in  our 
Conference — when  brought  up  almost  by  compulsion, 
told  me  that  he  could  hardly  find  a  word  to  say  to 
the  mourners.  They  would  frequently  say  to  each 
other,  "When  will  this  meeting  close?"  and  some  of 
them  expressed  a  wish  that  it  might  close.  The 
backsliding  that  followed  this  work  was  also  singu- 
lar. A  great  number  had  gone  back  before  I  came 
to  the  station,  and  many  went  after. 

Another  difficulty  that  met  me  at  my  coming 
was  a  division  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  music. 
A  preacher  who  preceded  Christie  had  put  a  choir 
in  the  gallery.  When  Christie  came  he  put  it  down. 
The  singers  thought  they  were  too  lightly  esteemed, 
and  refrained  from  taking  any  part  in  the  singing. 
Many  who  were  opposed  to  choirs  could  not  sing. 
There  was  one  very  pious  brother  who  could  not  sing 
much  better  than  myself,  who  was  our  only  depend- 
ence. Some  of  the  young  men  said  if  he  did  not 


368  THE    CROSS. 

quit  singing  "John  Grimes"  they  would  whip  him. 
And  we  evidently  needed  some  improvement  in  this 
department.  I  was  waited  on  by  persons  on  both 
sides  of  the  question,  and  I  listened  complacently  to 
their  reasons  and  arguments,  and  told  them  that  I 
required  some  little  time  to  examine  the  subject. 
After  examining  the  Discipline  I  waited  on  one  of 
our  principal  singers,  and  told  him  that  the  gallery 
was  only  a  question  of  place,  and  if  he  would  assist 
me  I  would  revive  the  singing  in  the  center  of  the 
congregation.  He  spoke  to  other  singers,  and  they 
agreed  to  this.  I  told  two  of  them  to  take  their 
stations  under  the  main  lamp  the  next  Sunday, 
and  to  invite  some  females  to  do  so  on  their  side, 
as  leaders;  and  to  invite  other  good  singers  to 
sit  by  them,  and  all  to  be  in  place  before  public 
service.  On  the  Sabbath  v.^  arose  with  the  Disci- 
pline in  my  hand  and  observed,  that  we  had  liad  some 
difficulty  about  singing,  and  all  would  admit  that 
there  was  room  for  improvement;  that  it  was  well 
known  that  a  difference  of  opinion  existed  in  that 
Church  on  the  subject,  but  as  a  minister  there  was 
but  one  course  for  me.  When  I  entered  into  orders 
I  promised  to  adminster  the  Discipline  with  a  mild 
but  firm  hand.  Now,  what  says  the  Discipline  on 
this  very  subject?  "If  you  can  not  sing  yourself 
choose  a  person  or  two,  at  each  place,  to  pitch  the 
tune  for  you.  Exhort  every  person  in  the  congre- 
gation to  sing."  This  is  the  order  of  the  Discipline, 
and  I  am  sure  I  am  in  the  path  of  duty.  I  appoint 


URBANA    STATION.  369 

these  two  brethren  to  pitch  the  tune — mentioning 
their  names.  I  have  stationed  them  under  the  large 
lamps,  where  they  will,  on  evenings,  have  the  great- 
est body  of  light',  and  where  their  voices  will  reach 
all  the  walls  of  this  spacious  building  at  once,  and 
where  they  will  not  displace  the  old  members.  Every 
one  in  the  house  is  exhorted  to  sing  with  them.  We 
struck  off  delightfully,  and  the  singing  increased  in 
purity  and  melody  every  Sabbath,  till  it  was  en- 
chanting; and  strangers  from  the  eastward  said 
they  had  heard  no  better  singing  in  the  Atlantic 
cities. 

I  mention  this  because  difficulties  often  arise 
about  singing,  and  the  devil  is  never  better  pleased 
than  wheQ  he  can  turn  this  part  of  divine  worship 
into  contention  and  strife.  It  has  been  my  rule 
never  to  put  up  a  choir  —here  there  has  never  been 
one,  and  'not  to  pull  down  a  choir  where  it  is.  In 
either  case  it  will  raise  a  smoke  in  the  wigwam.  I 
believe  in  improving  in  singing  as  well  as  in  other 
matters.  The  people  of  Urbana  deserve  great 
credit.  At  the  time  we  are  reviewing,  they  had 
spent  fifteen  hundred  dollars  in  the  acquisition  of 
vocal  music,  and  they  had  then  a  most  accomplished 
teacher.  During  my  short  stay  on  London  circuit 
I  was  associated  with  brother  John  Steele,  with 
whom  I  renewed  fellowship  in  travel  in  subsequent 
years.  Brother  Zachariah  Connell  was  our  presiding 
elder.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  Ohio  Conference, 
in  all  its  history,  ever  had  a  better.  He  was  clad 


370  THE     CROSS. 

in  pure  Methodism,  in  doctrine,  discipline,  and 
usage.  He  was  a  strong  preacher,  argumentative 
and  forcible;  and  with  the  professing  congregation, 
on  Monday  mornings,  tender,  melting,  and  experi- 
mental. I  never  heard  him  preach  without  wishing 
I  could  have  his  sermon  written  as  it  fell  from  his 
lips.  He  only  wanted  the  voice  and  delivery  to 
make  him  perfect  in  preaching. 

We  had  a  revival  in  Urbana.  The  work  was  not 
so  great  among  the  irreligious — we  only  received 
about  fifty  new  members — but  the  Church  was  very 
lively,  and  some  professed  to  receive  sanctification. 
We  suppose  there  is  not  a  more  pleasant  station  in 
the  Conference  than  Urbana.  Many  of  the  old 
members  have  passed  into  their  rest.  May  the 
smiles  of  Heaven  rest  upon  their  offspring! 


HAMILTON    STATION.  371 


XXIX. 

HAMILTON  STATION-MONROE 
CIRCUIT. 

HAMILTON    STATION. 

1843.  HAMILTON  is  one  of  the  most  pleasant 
places  in  our  State;  and,  in  our  day,  we  had  flush 
congregations.  But  we  received  the  charge  with  a 
great  drawback;  Millerism  was  then  in  its  zenith — 
perhaps  a  little  beyond.  It  had  infected  the 
Church,  not  in  the  extremities,  but  it  had  disor- 
dered its  head  by  getting  hold  of  some  of  the 
officiary.  We  say  some;  the  larger  part  of  that 
department  was  sound.  We  saw  clearly  that  we 
could  not  get  round  it,  still  we  fully  comprehended 
the  delicacy  of  laying  a  hand  upon  it,  and  saw  the 
propriety  of  the  caution  of  the  Discipline — "mild 
but  firm."  As  it  was  the  all-absorbing  subject,  we 
so  far  took  to  the  current  as  to  give  our  views  on 
the  subject. 

We  have  always  believed  that  where  a  charge  is 
endangered  by  any  besetting  evil,  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  preacher  to  pay  attention  to  that  evil  in  a  pru- 
dent manner.  Under  this  impression  we  have 
sometimes  had  to  make  almost  a  new  set  of  ser- 


372  THE    CROSS. 

mons.  To  preach  sermons  that  would  suit  equally 
New  York,  Cincinnati,  or  any  other  place,  when  a 
deadly  evil  is  eating  up  our  charge,  is  nothing 
more  than  stage-horse  monotony.  In  Hamilton  we 
undertook  to  show  that  however  startling  the  fig- 
ures of  Mr.  Miller  might  appear  to  some,  he  was 
wrong  in  their  application.  The  end  that  the 
vision  of  Daniel  referred  to  was  not  the  end  of  the 
world.  What  did  such  a  good  man  as  Daniel  care 
about  the  end  of  the  world?  One  who  could  sleep 
all  night  with  a  lion  for  his  pillow  and  a  tiger  for 
his  footboard,  had  no  effeminate  tremors  about  the 
end  of  the  world.  As  a  captive  Jew  he  did  mourn 
over  the  prostration  of  the  Church  of  the  living 
God.  Jerusalem  was  in  ruins,  and  all  the  pleasant 
things  of  Mount  Zion  laid  waste.  He  fasted,  wept, 
and  prayed,  and  desired  to  see  an  end  to  the  deso- 
lation of  the  Church,  and  he  cried  out  "how  long? 
how  long?  O  Lord!"  The  vision  itself  was  not  to 
gratify  the  curiosity  of  an  individual,  but  to  com- 
fort the  Church  for  ages  to  come. 

We  endeavored  also  to  show  that  the  end — the 
restitution  of  Israel — would  be  the  birthday  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  the  universal  reign  of  grace; 
that  this  glorious  reign  would  last  more  than  three 
hundred  thousand  years;  that  the  very  structure 
of  the  earth  seemed  to  favor  this  doctrine,  inas- 
much as  we  had  barely  lifted  the  crust  and  entered 
on  the  thresholds  of  immense  beds  of  minerals 
suited  to  the  wants  of  a  civilized  and  Christianized 


HAMILTON    STATION.  373 

world  for  ages  to  come;  and  our  earth  was  supplied 
with  a  cargo  and  all  necessary  small  stores  for  the 
eventful  voyage.  We  showed  them  that  the  vision 
of  John,  in  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  agreed  with  this 
view,  putting  the  millennium  before  the  day  of  gen- 
eral judgment.  We  argued  that  their  doctrine  was 
wrong  because  it  troubled  the  Churches.  The  same 
doctrine  was  broached  in  the  apostles'  day,  and  one 
of  them  wrote  to  the  Churches  "Be  not  troubled." 
It  troubles  the  Churches  now.  We  did  not  at  first 
think  it  would.  We  said,  Supposing  it  is  false,  if 
Christians  believe  the  judgment  is  immediately  im- 
pending, surely  they  will  live  more  holy,  have  more 
love  for  God  and  man.  Vain  thought!  The  errors 
of  man  can  not  work  the  righteousness  of  God. 
The  Church  is  troubled  now;  separate  prayer  meet- 
ings are  established,  in  which  old  and  faithful 
members  are  regarded  as  infidels,  however  bright 
their  experience  or  holy  their  lives;  they  lack  the 
sine  qua  non,  faith  in  the  doctrines  of  Millerism. 
The  preachers  are  publicly  denounced  as  blind  lead- 
ers of  the  blind.  And  does  all  this  look  like  being 
prepared  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord? 

Again,  the  argument  of  Miller  is  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  that  of  Christ.  Millerism  ,says,  "Because 
we  know  the  day,  we  will  watch  and  pray."  Christ 
Bays,  "Because  you  know  not  the  day,  watch  and 
pray."  Here  the  "knowing  not  the  day"  is  the 
argument  why  we  should  watch  and  pray;  and  the 
argument  is  natural  as  well  as  evangelical.  Sup- 


374  THE  CROSS. 

pose  a  man  should  receive  a  letter  from  his  father, 
that  he  has  not  seen  for  many  years,  stating  that 
he  would  spend  a  particular  day — say  Friday — at 
his  house;  that  man  would  not  watch  for  his 
father  on  any  other  day.  If  pressing  business 
should  call  him  away  on  Monday,  Tuesday,  or 
Wednesday,  he  would  go.  But,  suppose  the  letter 
should  state  that  his  father  would  be  at  his  house 
some  time  next  week;  then  he  would  watch  for  him 
all  the  time.  If  business  or  pleasure  should  call, 
he  would  say,  I  can  not  go,  I  must  watch  for  my 
father,  for  I  know  not  the  day  he  will  come;  he 
watches  all  the  time. 

But  we  had  something  to  do  besides  preaching. 
Our  Church  was  in  a  bad  way.  At  our  official 
meeting,  one  leader  complained  that  his  class  had 
ceased  to  meet  him,  but  still  he  seemed  to  have  no 
notion  of  resigning.  I  told  him  I  would  take  his 
book,  and  visit  the  whole  class  immediately.  The 
class  was  made  up  mostly  of  females.  Their  testi- 
mony was  generally  to  this  amount:  "We  love 
class  meeting;  but  our  leader,  of  late,  asks  each 
of  us  if  we  are  just  ready  to  go  to  judgment. 
We  answer,  we  can  not  say  that  we  are.  We  love 
God,  and  are  trying  to  serve  him;  and  we  believe 
that  he  will  give  us  grace  for"  that  day  when  it 
comes.  He  then  denounces  us  as  in  the  gall  of  bit- 
terness— lost,  and  undone.  Such  class  meetings  do 
us  no  good."  At  the  next  official  meeting  we  made 
a  faithful  report,  without  censuring  the  leader. 


HAMILTON    STATION.  375 

Some  of  the  members  said  they  believed,  if  their 
class  should  abandon  them  thus,  they  would  at  once 
resign.  Such  talk  went  round,  without  any  reflec- 
tions on  the  leader,  till  at  last  he  grasped  the  idea, 
and  threw  up.  Thus  one  of  the  latter-day  saints 
was  eased  off  without  violence. 

Two  of  our  exhorters  were  propagating  Miller's 
doctrine,  especially  the  annihilation  of  the  wicked. 
We  had  a  calm  interview  with  one,  and,  after  hear- 
ing his  statement,  asked  him  if  he  was  well  assured 
that  the  doctrine  was  Scriptural.  He  said  he  was 
not  as  well  satisfied  as  he  wished  to  be  on  the  sub- 
ject. He  read  many  passages  that  seemed  to  favor 
it,  and  then  he  saw  some  Scriptures  that  seemed  to 
be  against  it,  and  his  own  mind  was  not  settled. 
Then,  brother,  do  you  think  it  safe  and  right  to 
preach  to  others  doctrines  concerning  which  you 
yourself  are  doubtful?  He  said  it  did  not  seem 
right;  and  he  would  promise  to  desist  till,  after  a 
longer  investigation,  he  might  be  convinced  the 
doctrine  was  of  God.  Thinking  that,  if  he  would 
do  this,  we  might  be  able  to  manage  the  case,  we 
went  to  see  the  other  brother.  He  obstinately  held 
to  his  views,  and  was  zealous  to  convert  us.  We 
told  him  that  many  of  the  brethren  were  dissatis- 
fied, and  perhaps  some  of  them  would  call  for  an 
explanation  at  the  quarterly  conference,  which  was 
soon  to  be  held,  and  then  he  would  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  defining  his  position.  At  that  conference, 
some  of  the  officiary  stated  that  there  were  unfa- 


376  THE  CROSS. 

vorable  reports  concerning  that  brother's  orthodoxy, 
and  he  rose  up,  and  gave  an  honest  exposition  of  his 
faith,  and  his  license  was  withdrawn.  Then  the 
first-mentioned  exhorter  took  fire,  rose  to  defend  his 
colleague,  and  in  so  doing  committed  himself,  and 
lost  his  license.  They  still  continued  in  the  Church, 
but  stripped  of  their  power  to  do  harm. 

Another  man,  who  had  exercised  considerable 
influence  in  the  Church,  read,  in  the  Advocate,  a 
communication  under  the  caption  of  "The  Setting 
Goose."  He  found  out,  somehow,  that  I  was  the 
author.  And,  although  there  was  nothing  personal 
or  local  in  it,  but  merely  an  exhibition  of  the 
deathless  "hang-on"  of  Millerism,  it  afforded  an 
opportunity,  and  he  came  to  withdraw  from  the 
Church.  We  expostulated,  and  showed  the  unrea- 
sonableness of  his  forsaking  God  and  the  Church, 
merely  because  a  brother,  in  a  free  country,  had 
expressed  an  opinion  contrary  to  his  own.  0,  he 
was  not  going  to  forsake  God;  he  was  more  devoted 
than  ever — loved  his  Bible  better,  because  he  under- 
stood it  better. 

"Brother,  you  may  think  so  now;  but  let  me 
tell  you,  you  are  driving  fast  toward  the  whirlpool 
of  infidelity,  and  it  will  not  be  long  before  your 
Bible  will  be  covered  with  dust,  and  you  will  lay  it 
aside  like  a  loathsome  thing.  Your  family  altar, 
too,  will  be  cast  down;  and  when  you  find  that  the 
Lord  will  not  burn  up  our  world  at  your  beck  and 
call,  you  will  spurn  his  service." 


HAMILTON    STATION.  377 

He  smiled  at  my  simplicity,  and  took  his  depart- 
ure. Nevertheless,  all  these  things  came  to  pass. 
About  three  weeks  before  the  world  was  to  be 
burned  up,  the  said  man,  supposing  he  saw  a  spec- 
ulation, traded  off  his  property  in  Rossville  for  a 
place  in  Hamilton.  "We  saw  another  distinguished 
disciple,  about  the  same  time,  setting  out  fruit  trees 
not  much  larger  than  a  rattan-cane.  We  looked 
over  his  fence,  and  said,  "  Brother,  how  long  will  it 
be  before  these  trees  will  bear  fruit?"  He  appeared 
to  be  considerably  nettled  by  the  question.  It  is 
astonishing  how  people  will  torment  a  whole  Church 
with  something  that  they  themselves  can  not  be- 
lieve ! 

They  finally  brought  up  from  Cincinnati  the  great 
tabernacle.  The  people  went  to  see  it  through  the 
week  as  a  curiosity,  and  its  priests  expected  on  the 
Sabbath  to  empty  all  the  churches.  But  Israel 
abode  in  their  tents,  and  the  vast  proportions  of  the 
tabernacle  served  to  display  more  fully  its  discour- 
aging emptiness.  The  people  of  Hamilton  were 
denounced  as  irreclaimable,  and  the  tabernacle 
returned  to  its  rest.  In  answer  to  one  of  our  argu- 
ments the  preacher  said  he  frankly  admitted  that 
in  the  Apocalypse  the  millennium  was  placed  before 
the  day  of  judgment,  but  he  could  easily  account 
for  that.  The  apostles  wrote  on  separate  slips,  and 
the  fathers,  in  binding  the  book,  had  got  the  day  of 
judgment  shuffled  out  of  its  place.  This  was  re- 
ceived with  a  broad  grin  of  approbation.  And  who 

32 


378  THE    CROSS. 

could  withstand  such  intimacy  with  the  blunders  of 
the  fathers? 

Through  the  mercy  of  God  we  got  rid  of  this 
pestilence,  and  without  a  single  expulsion.  Still, 
those  who  were  involved  in  this  error  had  their  re- 
lations or  connection  in  the  Church;  and  although 
they  did  not  participate  in  their  views,  and  some- 
times ridiculed  them  in  the  family  circle,  yet  they 
were  their  kin,  and  they  did  not  wish  others  to 
touch  them.  So,  although  my  congregation  was  as 
large  as  it  ever  was  before,  and,  perhaps,  has  been 
since,  yet  I  concluded  that  I  had  done  a  good  work, 
and  laid  a  smooth  platform  for  a  successor;  so  I 
earnestly  entreated  the  presiding  elder  to  procure 
me  a  circuit  next  year.  This  he  did,  but  declared 
I  should  not  have  been  removed,  only  on  my  own 
solicitation.  My  brother's  daughter,  that  we  had 
raised  from  a  child — Ellen — was  married  and  settled 
in  Hamilton.  We  feel  very  much  attached  to  the 
place,  for  we  had  many  kind  friends  there.  We  re- 
gard Hamilton  as  one  of  the  best  stations.  May  the 
Lord  have  the  people  in  his  holy  keeping ! 

MONROE. 

1844.  This  year  we  removed  to  Monroe,  a  small 
but  very  pleasant  charge,  abounding  with  loyal 
Methodists.  Here  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  resid- 
ing with  brother  Connell,  our  presiding  elder;  and 
we  became  more  and  more  attached  to  him  as  we 
became  better  and  better  acquainted.  On  one  circuit, 


MONEOE.  379 

where  I  labored,  the  people  did  not  like  him  at  first 
sight,  especially  when  he  undertook  to  reform  their 
order  in  quarterly  conference,  which,  by  the  by,  was 
no  order  at  all.  But  when  his  term  expired  they 
voluntarily  passed  resolutions  highly  eulogizing  his 
character,  and  thanking  him  for  the  reformation  he 
had  made  in  their  councils,  and  for  what  he  had 
taught  them  of  law,  order,  and  Methodism.  Connell 
never  suffered  himself  to  kick  back,  but  left  all  to 
God,  conscience,  and  time,  and  he  always  triumphed. 
We  had  large  congregations  on  this  circuit,  good 
meetings,  great  peace,  but  no  extra  revival.  Monroe 
has  lately  become  a  station,  and  of  the  first  order, 
we  are  told.  It  is  situated  in  a  beautiful  part  of 
our  State.  In  our  day  they  had  a  large  Presby- 
terian connection  around. 


380  THE    CROSS. 


XXX. 

PUTNAM    STATION. 

1848.  IT  was  by  hard  traveling  that  I  reached 
this  station  on  Saturday  evening  —  my  goods  all 
lying  topsy-turvy,  and  my  preaching  tacks  not  on 
board.  I*o  not  know  but  that  the  people  thought 
it  was  a  slim  chance.  One  intelligent  brother  said, 
"Why,  you  don't  look  like  I  thought  you  would. 
I  have  read  your  communications  in  the  Eepository 
and  Advocate,  and  I  had  painted  to  myself  a  tall, 
slim,  scholastic-looking  man;  but,  but — " 

An  old  veteran,  who  knew  me  in  years  gone  by  on 
the  Zanesville  circuit,  passed  among  them,  and  said, 
"Be  still!  I'll  go  his  security." 

What  a  prestige!  a  thin  man  and  a  pair  of  green 
spectacles !  In  a  few  weeks  the  brethren  began  to 
draw  nigh  to  me,  and  I  drew  nigh  to  them;  and  in 
process  of  time  I  became  entirely  too  popular.  Some 
of  them,  supposing  I  was  impervious  to  temptation, 
would  praise  me  to  my  face,  and  I  got  alarmed,  and 
pressed  closer  to  my  closet  and  my  knees,  and  hoped 
the  Lord  would  not  kill  me  or  do  me  any  harm,  be- 
cause the  members  were  so  imprudent.  When  my 
year  was  out  they  expressed  a  wish  for  me  to  come 


PUTNAM     STATION.  381 

back.  On  this  point  I  have  always  expressed  my- 
self as  uncertain,  and  as  being  at  the  disposal  of  the 
bishops.  This  perhaps  made  them  suspicious  of  me; 
so  two  of  the  stewards  attended  Conference,  and 
watched  the  bishops  and  watched  me  till  my  ap- 
pointment was  fixed.  When  my  second  year  was 
expiring,  and  in  one  of.  our  last  official  meetings, 
one,  speaking  for  all,  said, 

"Brother  L.,  if  our  Discipline  would  admit  it,  we 
would  agree  with  the  bishops  to  take  you  for  five 
years  to  come.  You  preach  the  Gospel  jn  every 
sermon,  and  yet  you  have  never  preached  two  ser- 
mons alike." 

When  I  first  came  on  this  circuit  the  leading 
members  said  they  had  heard  I  was  a  great  disci- 
plinarian, and  they  wished  that  I  would  prune  their 
Church,  for  there  was  great  delinquency  in  regard 
to  attending  class  and  other  matters.  I  told  them 
this  would  depend  in  a  great  measure  on  themselves ; 
that  discipline  must  begin  with  them;  charges  must 
originate  with  them.  If  members  could  not  be  per- 
suaded by  them  to  attend  class,  they  must  hand  me 
their  names;  then  it  would  be  my  duty  to  see 
them,  and  if  they  would  not  reform,  I  would  have 
to  bring  them  to  trial.  They  took  me  at  my  word, 
and  I  had  enough  to  do.  We  had  to  lay  aside 
some  forty  or  fifty  from  time  to  time.  The  next 
year  I  read  in  the  Advocate  of  a  revival  there.  At 
this  my  heart  rejoiced,  and  after  a  while  we  visited 
them.  I  was  congratulating  some  of  the  brethren 


382  THE    CROSS. 

on  the  work  they  had  had.  They  smiled,  and  said, 
"Yes,  brother,  we  have  taken  in  again  all  you  cast 
overboard,  without  any  promise  of  doing  better, 
and  they  don't  attend  their  classes  any  better  than 
they  did  before  they  were  put  out.  This  is  the  re- 
vival, with  the  addition  of  a  few  who  never  belonged." 

I  felt  in  my  heart,  "I  have  labored  in  vain,  and 
spent  my  strength  for  naught." 

The  two  years  spent  in  Putnam  were  unusually 
pleasant.  Brother  Dustin  had  the  old  charge,  and 
brother  Warnock  the  new,  in  Zanesville  during  that 
time;  an<rwe  were  truly  a  threefold  cord.  We  had 
a  social,  happy  time  with  our  families.  When  the 
Zanesville  friends  invited  their  preachers  to  break 
bread,  they  would  frequently  invite  us,  and  the 
Putnam  friends  would  return  the  compliment.  The 
upper  room  of  Warnock's  church  being  finished,  it 
was  determined  to  have  a  dedication.  One  of  our 
bishops  was  to  preach  the  sermon;  but  he  sent 
word  after  a  while  that  he  could  not  come.  They 
then  tried  to  get  a  distinguished  preacher  from  the 
city,  but  he  could  not  come;  time  rolling  on.  So  I 
supposed  one  of  their  own  ministers  would  preach 
it.  True,  they  had  been  joking,  as  I  thought,  me 
about  it.  A  few  days  before — perhaps  the  Friday 
before — the  set  time,  a  member  from  Zanesville 
came  over,  and  opening  his  hymn-book,  pointed  out 
two  hymns,  and  said, 

"Brother  Lorrain,  the  sisters  have  selected  these 
two  hymns  to  be  given  out  at  the  dedication." 


PUTNAM    STATION.  383 

"But  stop,  brother,"  said  I,  "you  should  carry 
them  to  brother  Warnock  or  Dustin,  as  the  case 
may  be." 

"Why?  It  has  been  given  out  for  you  to  preach 
the  dedication." 

I  was  confounded,  if  I  know  what  confounded 
means.  At  first  I  was  tempted  to  think  the  preach- 
ers, in  view  of  an  expected  disappointment,  had  con- 
cluded to  lay  the  burden  on  Jonah,  as  a  scape-goat. 
But  I  had  to  say,  "Down,  down,  busy  devil,  try  it 
again;"  for  they  were  too  good  to  play  this  game. 
So,  at  the  time  appointed,  we  gathered  up  our  good 
singers  to  add  to  the  choir,  and  all  our  praying 
folks  followed.  The  music  was  extra,  and  I  felt 
something  like  Saul,  the  son  of  Kish,  under  the 
melody  of  David's  harp,  and  preached  to  the  crowd- 
ed congregation.  We  had  a  mellow  time,  and  when 
I  closed,  brother  Brush  and  the  trustees  pitched  in, 
and  before  the  benediction  was  given  they  wiped  off 
the  whole  debt  as  clean  as  a  woman  would  wipe  a 
dish,  turning  it  upside  down.  Hush !  Let  me  tell 
it,  for  I  never  dedicated  but  three  houses  in  all  my 
travel. 

Let  not  the  reader  suppose  that  because  we  mag- 
nify the  kindness  of  the  people  of  Putnam,  that  we 
never  were  popular  before  or  since.  We  only  give 
this  2$  an  example  of  sunshine,  we  have  sometimes 
had  our  clouds  and  conflicts,  met  with  oppositions 
and  inflictions  from  members,  that  would  make  a 
pious  Chinese  blush;  but  we  lay  all  our  wrongs  be- 


384  THE    CROSS. 

fore  the  throne,  firmly  settled  in  the  decree,  "  Ven- 
geance is  mine,  and  I  will  repay."  And  we  have 
sometimes  viewed  with  astonishment  the  cup  of 
trembling  as  it  has  passed  round. 

There  is  one  circumstance  connected  with  this 
station  which  should  be  mentioned,  as  it  has  a  bear- 
ing on  the  Discipline.  The  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Putnam  had  generally  a  pious  membership.  They 
were  closely  allied  to  the  Methodists  by  relationship 
and  marriage  connections.  They  had  been  in  the 
habit,  under  all  administrations,  of  communing 
with  our  people.  For  some  time  they  had  ceased 
to  do  so.  Our  people  naturally  inquired  why  they 
had  discontinued  communing.  "Because,"  said 
they,  "your  elder  has  never  given  us  the  accustomed 
invitation."  At  our  next  quarterly  conference  some 
of  our  leading  men  introduced  a  resolution  respect- 
fully requesting  the  presiding  elder  to  invite  to  our 
sacrament  members  of  other  Churches.  The  elder 
said  he  could  not  conscientiously  do  this,  as  the 
Discipline  expressly  showed  that  persons  of  other 
Churches  could  not  be  admitted  without  a  token.  I 
saw  that  a  storm  was  gathering,  and  in  order  to 
allay  it  I  rose  and  observed,  "That  as  it  regarded 
the  token,  I  had  never  seen  one  in  my  life,  and 
would  be  altogether  at  a  loss  to  make  one.  We  had 
been  told  that  some  Churches  made  them  out  of  lead ; 
but  how,  or  with  what  tools,  we  knew  not.  Still, 
the  presiding  elder  had  the  Discipline  on  his  side, 
and  it  would  be  wrong  to  require  him  to  go  against 


PUTNAM    STATION.  385 

his  conscience;  but  if  the  Discipline  was  altered, 
conscience  would  be  met.  Now,  the  General  Con- 
*  ference  will  meet  in  Pittsburg  before  our  next 
quarterly  conference,  and  I  suggest  that  a  committee 
be  appointed  to  petition  it  on  the  subject."  This 
idea  gave  another  turn  to  the  matter.  They  ap- 
pointed a  committee,  and  passed  a  resolution  that 
the  elder  should  lay  the  subject  before  all  the 
quarterly  conferences.  I  was  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee, and  drew  up  a  paper,  with  as  much  ginger 
in  it  as  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion  could  bear. 
Presently  we  read,  in  the  Pittsburg  daily,  that  a 
petition  was  received  from  Putnam  in  regard  to  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  was  referred  to 
a  committee.  Presently  we  read  that  a  petition, 
counter  to  the  above,  had  been  remitted  by  the  pre- 
siding elder. 

At  last  we  read  that  the  clause  in  the  Discipline 
requiring  a  token,  etc.,  had  been  struck  out.  At 
the  next  quarterly  conference,  on  Saturday  night, 
I  reminded  the  elder  that  the  "token"  had  been 
abolished,  and  our  people  would  expect  him  to  give 
an  invitation  to  members  of  other  Churches.  He 
said  he  would  not  do  it.  After  giving  out  several 
appointments,  he  said  brother  L.  might  give  out  his 
appointments.  I  invited  all  in  good  standing  to 
meet  us  at  the  Lord's  table  on  the  Sabbath.  They 
came,  and  we  had  a  delightful  communion.  Now, 
if  there  is  any  credit  due  for  flinging  away  that 

obsolete,    or    rather    never-used    "token,"    let    the 

33 


386  THE    CROSS. 

Church  of  Putnam  have  her  share.  Did  I  say  never 
used?  I  might  add,  used  only  by  some  of  our  Bap- 
tist brethren,  when  they  flirt  it  in  our  face,  as  an 
evidence  of  our  close  communion.  And  this  they 
have  done  often  since  the  rule  has  been  repealed. 
But  we  can  say,  "  Ou  est  le  papier?" 


ASBURY    CIRCUIT.  387 


XXXI. 

ASBURY   CIBOUIT-HARMAR    STATION. 

1849.  WE  had  been  kindly  stationed  in  Putnam 
in  order  to  recover  our  health;  and  there  was  a 
fine  prospect  of  restoration.  But,  at  the  next  Con- 
ference, I  was  thrown  on  one  of  the  most  difficult 
circuits  I  ever  rode,  and  my  saddle  disease  returned 
in  all  its  force.  In  riding  up  one  hill  and  down 
another,  my  situation  in  the  saddle  became  so  pain- 
ful that  I  often  had  to  get  down  and  walk.  On 
one  occasion  I  walked,  and  led  my  horse,  seven 
miles  through  unbroken  snow  and  mud;  and,  when 
I  got  home,  felt  as  if  I  had  taken  my  last  prome- 
nade. But  I  made  the  best  of  it,  and"  carried  out 
a  scheme  which  had  been  devised  the  previous  year, 
and  to  all  my  other  gettings  I  added  the  French 
language,  so  far  as  to  find  access  to  its  literature. 
Perhaps,  if  I  could  have  endured  another  year,  I 
might  have  attacked  the  Hebrew,  for  my  faculties 
were  stretched  out  to  their  extreme  tension  by  the 
things  which  I  had  suffered. 

We  had  several  revivals  at  different  points,  but 
had  to  loosen  our  grip  of  many  of  our  spoils  before 
the  year  was  out.  Indeed,  in  one  place,  we  had  to 
drop  nearly  all.  The  converts  were  of  Baptist 


388  THE    CEOSS. 

raising,  and  their  relations  appeared  as  if  they 
would  rather  see  them  lost  than  to  be  united  to 
the  Methodists.  They  were  most  violent  against 
them,  and  would  say,  "Wait  till  the  'Old  Horn' 
comes."  This  was  a  nickname  they  had  given  to 
their  preacher — intended  as  a  compliment — who, 
they  supposed,  had  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom. 
When  Old  Horn  came,  he  decided  that  they  had 
not  begun  to  know  any  thing  about  true  religion; 
they  had  only  fallen  into  Methodist  delusion.  And, 
as  he  piqued  himself  on  wit,  he  publicly  caricatured 
Methodism,  so  as  to  place  it  before  them  in  a  ridic- 
ulous light.  Through  all  this  they  could  see  his 
dishonesty,  because  he  strongly  urged  them  all  to 
join  his  Church.  Their  high  delusion  would  in  a 
moment  form  an  experience  sufficient  to  introduce 
them  into  his  Church.  But  they  scorned  his  pro- 
posals, though  they  were  driven  back — some  of 
them,  we  fear,  to  perdition.  A  number  of  them 
had  given  satisfactory  evidence  of  a  real  conversion. 
And  some  held  fast  their  confidence. 

When  the  "Old  Horn"  had  succeeded  in  scatter- 
ing the  Baptist  children,  he  said,  with  great  exult- 
ation, "I  told  you  so;  once  in  grace  always  in 
grace."  I  love  good  Baptists,  whether  preachers  or 
members;  and  it  has  been  my  lot  to  know  many 
such.  But  the  preachers  of  that  part  of  the  coun- 
try were  dram-drinkers,  and  they  were  not  ashamed 
of  it.  When  they  stopped  at  a  house,  the  jug  was 
immediately  seen  traveling  to  the  grocery.  One  of 


ASBURY     CIRCUIT.  389 

the  preachers  was  heard  to  say  he  did  like  to  take 
a  dram  before  preaching,  because  it  took  away  the 
fear  of  man.  This  same  man  came  out  to  the  grove 
to  hear  Ebenezer  Chase  preach  on  temperance.  He 
stretched  himself  along  a  log,  and  prepared  to  hear 
in  such  a  way  as  might  indicate  his  contempt  of 
both  the  preacher  and  the  cause.  Chase  had  occa- 
sion to  speak  of  ministers  who  were  opposed  to 
temperance,  and,  among  other  things,  observed,  "I 
have  heard  of  a  minister — not  a  hundred  miles 
from  here — who  said  he  liked  to  take  a  dram  be- 
fore preaching,  because  it  took  away  the  fear  of 
man,  which  is  a  snare."  The  gentleman  sprang  up 
into  a  decent  position,  and  his  face  flushed  a  deeper 
red;  and  well  it  might,  for  the  eyes  of  the  whole 
congregation  were  fastened  on  him. 

Ebenezer  Chase  was  a  Methodist  preacher  of  the 
highest  order.  He  was  always  successful;  and  lived 
in  the  affections  of  the  people  of  his  charge.  And 
yet  some  of  his  distant  friends  hardly  know  that  he 
has,  years  ago,  reached  the  haven.  We  are  almost 
tired  of  reading,  for  successive  years,  the  eulogies 
of  our  classical  brethren  who  have  made  good  marks 
as  they  passed  along,  and  are  worthy  of  remem- 
brance; but  others,  whose  apostolic  epistles  are 
scattered  over  all  the  land,  are  laid  by  almost  in 
silence.  The  reason  is,  those  of  blue  ribbon  and 
green  spectacles  can  not — and  ought  not — forget 
their  chums;  and  we  of  the  saddle-bag  class  ought 
to  do  likewise — that  is,  when  we  get  a  chance.  So, 


390  THE    CEOSS. 

Ebenezer,  Ebenezer!  "if  departed  spirits  are  per- 
mitted to  review  this  world,"  look  down  compla- 
cently on  one  with  whom  thou  hast  taken  sweet 
counsel  in  the  days  of  thy  pilgrimage,  and  accept 
this  small  record  of  thy  worth.  And  let  all  who 
read  say,  amen. 

My  colleague  on  this  circuit  was  Sanford  Haines, 
a  very  promising  young  married  man.  He  emi- 
grated, next  year,  to  Iowa,  to  enter  on  broad  fields 
of  future  usefulness. 

We  took  in  many  members ;  but,  as  a  new  circuit 
was  made  the  year  previous,  we  can  not  tell  how 
many  were  taken  from  us,  and  consequently  can 
not  find  what  the  increase  was  by  the  Minutes. 

HARMAR     STATION. 

1851.  This  was  a  beautiful  town  at  the  junction 
of  the  Muskingum  and  Ohio  Eivers.  It  was,  for 
the  time  being,  the  residence  of  our  presiding  elder, 
who  was  once  one  of  the  brightest  boys  in  our 
Xenia  Sunday  school — Uriah  Heath.  The  town  of 
Marietta  was  on  the  opposite  bank.  The  towns 
were  subject  to  partial  overflows  occasionally;  but, 
through  mercy,  they  were  exempt  during  our 
sojourn.  "We  had  a  pretty  little  meeting-house,  but 
the  ceiling  was  unusually  low — only  a  few  feet 
above  the  pulpit. 

On  a  quarterly  meeting  occasion  the  house  was 
closely  crowded  one  night,  and  it  was  my  lot  to 
preach.  The  elder  requested  me  to  call  up  mourn- 


HARMAK    STATION.  391 

ers  before  I  was  done.  As  I  rose  up  in  the  vitiated 
atmosphere  I  felt  very  sensibly  oppressed;  I,  how- 
ever, finished  my  sermon,  and  was  exhorting  sin- 
ners, when  all  at  once  a  singular  unconsciousness — 
in  regard  to  what  I  was  saying — came  over  me.  I 
suppose  I  talked  ten  minutes  or  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  something  that  I  could  not  comprehend  then, 
and  which  I  could  not  remember  after.  The 
thought  struck  me  that  I  had  been  talking  non- 
sense or  something  irrelevant  to  the  occasion,  and  I 
sat  down  utterly  dismayed.  Mourners  came  up, 
and  the  elder  carried  on  the  meeting;  but  I  got 
low  in  the  pulpit,  and  felt  greatly  ashamed.  When 
I  got  home  I  found  that  I  could  not  remember  the 
names  of  my  near  neighbors.  When  I  learned  from 
my  elder  that  I  had  said  nothing  out  of  the  way, 
and  that  he  wondered  that  I  staid  in  the  pulpit,  I 
felt  greatly  relieved  in  my  mind.  He  stated  that 
he  had  experienced  the  same  thing  occasionally. 
The  doctor  said  it  was  prostration  by  too  much 
labor  and  watching,  and  that  I  must  rest.  I  was 
not  able  to  continue  the  meeting,  and  as  the  elder 
was  alone,  and  had  to  leave  soon,  the  meeting  was 
closed.  A  minister  preached  there  one  night,  but 
just  after  he  commenced  he  had  to  stop  and  order 
them  to  open  all  the  windows.  He  believed  his 
very  life  was  in  danger. 

It  was  while  here  that  I  published  my  "Sea-Ser- 
mons." Brother  J.  F.  Wright  kindly  undertook 
the  supervision  of  the  publication  in  Cincinnati. 


392  THE    CKOSS. 

When  the  manuscript  was  prepared  and  directed 
to  its  destination,  I  took  it  into  an  upper  room, 
laid  it  in  a  chair,  and  kneeled  down  to  spread  it  be- 
fore the  Lord  with  all  my  motives  and  purpose; 
but  as  I  bowed  down  a  powerful  influence  almost 
pressed  me  to  the  floor,  and  I  felt  that  the  work 
was  approved.  In  my  travels  I  had  clear  evidences 
of  the  efficacy  of  these  sermons,  viva  voce,  and  since 
their  publication  I  have  received  from  distant 
parts,  by  correspondence,  testimony  of  their  utility. 
What  may  be  in  the  future  is  unknown,  but  I  be- 
lieve, in  presenting  them  before  the  Lord,  I  had  a 
clear  spiritual  indication  that  they  were  accepted. 

My  motives  as  expressed  to  my  fellow-men  were 
these:  There  has  been  of  late  years  a  great  refor- 
mation among  seamen.  Bethels  have  been  estab- 
lished and  chaplains  have  been  appointed  in  many 
ports,  both  at  home  and  abroad;  and  many  cheer- 
ing revivals  have  taken  place.  We  believe  that  all 
this  has  been  by  the  direction  of  a  wise  and  holy 
God.  When  our  Savior  began  to  preach  his  ever- 
lasting Gospel,  he  chose  his  ministers  principally 
from  the  sea.  True,  it  was  an  inland  sea — a  lake; 
but  still  it  was  the  sea  of  God's  chosen  nation. 
And  in  bringing  in  the  latter-day  glory,  it  should 
not  be  incredible  that  seamen  should  be  called  to 
bear  an  important  part. 

The  author  of  this  work  spent  the  morning  of  his 
life  on  the  sea,  both  before  and  abaft  the  mast. 
His  heart  and  his  affections  still  twine  around  his 


HARMAR    STATION.  393 

shipmates.  The  most  lifelike  dreams  that  come 
over  him  in  the  slumbers  of  the  night  are  rigged 
in  marine  scenery.  Then  he  is  on  board,  either  as 
a  missionary  or  a  sailor,  but  always  under  a  sense 
of  religious  obligations.  At  such  times  the  motions 
of  the  ship,  the  peculiar  odor  of  the  rigging,  the 
saline  savor  of  the  Atlantic  atmosphere,  are  all 
realized  with  vivid  certainty;  but  he  awakes,  and 
finds  himself  securely  moored  by  domestic  associa- 
tions in  the  far  West.  He  reads  of  the  sailors' 
happy  meetings,  of  their  bright  conversions,  and 
would  love  to  mingle  in  their  sincere  and  artless 
communion;  but  his  lot  forbids.  While  he  rejoices 
in  the  abundant  ministerial  provision  which  is  made 
for  seamen  while  in  port,  he  knows  that  their  brief 
stay  on  land  is  a  kind  of  parenthesis  in  their  being — 
a  time  of  extraordinary  excitement — of  meeting  and 
greeting  of  friends  and  connections,  if  not  a  time 
of  indulgences  less  innocent.  Perhaps  there  is  no 
time  when  the  sailor  is  so  accessible  to  the  Gospel 
as  when  he  is  at  home — on  the  mountain  wave. 
Then  he  is  removed  from  many  powerful  tempta- 
tions, and  the  sober  realities  of  life  are  upon  him. 
Then  he  has  opportunity,  in  his  watches  below,  to 
read  and  meditate  on  religious  truths.  We  can 
hardly  look  forward  to  any  time  when  every  vessel 
can  be  supplied  with  a  living  minister.  These  con- 
siderations have  moved  the  author  to  put  out  this 
volume.  It  may  serve  as  a  pocket  companion  for 
the  sailor.  The  author  sends  forth  the  book  hum- 


394  THE    CKOSS. 

bly  imploring  the  God  of  the  land  and  the  sea  to 
follow  it  with  his  blessing,  and  to  make  it  useful  to 
many, 

"  When  his  poor,  lisping,  stammering  tongue 
Lies  silent  in  the  grave." 

Soon  after  we  left  Harmar  many  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  Church  were  removed  by  death  in 
the  space  of  a  few  weeks. 


FULTON    STATION.  395 


XXXII. 

FULTON   STATION— QENERAL    CONFER- 
ENCE. 

1852.  AT  the  time  we  labored  here  there  was  a 
very  energetic  Church.  The  members  were  well 
gifted  in  prayer  and  exhortation — male  and  female — 
and  our  large  house  was  generally  well  filled.  I  at- 
tended always  the  weekly  prayer  meeting,  and  can 
not  say  we  ever  had  a  lifeless  prayer  meeting,  even 
when  the  streets  were  almost  impassable,  and  we 
were  reduced  to  two  or  three.  The  occupation  of 
the  people  —  boat-building  and  kindred  works  — 
render  the  community  movable  and  vacillating;  and 
they  sometimes  experience  sudden  reverses  in  their 
income,  but  they  are  always  generous  according  to 
their  means.  This  is  what  God  requires,  and  no 
more.  The  members  were  scattered  about  two  miles 
along  the  river,  and  this  made  visiting  very  labori- 
ous. Still  this  was  modified  through  the  omnibuses 
that  were  constantly  passing  and  repassing.  It  is 
moreover  a  place  of  alternate  mud  and  dust  in  their 
extremes.  For  these  reasons  the  preachers  are  not 
content  to  make  it  their  abiding  place,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  brother  Joseph  E-eeder,  who  is  one  of  our 


396  „>-    THE    CROSS. 

comically  good  men,  and  who  might,  without  irrev- 
erence, be  called  "the  angel  of  the  Church  at  Ful- 
ton;" and  if  the  pattern  should  fall  any  way  short, 
his  pious  and  devoted  wife  will  make  it  up. 

This  year  I  had  to  attend  the  General  Confer- 
ence. I  confess  candidly  I  had  no  ambition  to  grat- 
ify. Although  I  had  been  ambitious,  and  once 
grasped,  under  our  political  government,  two  offices 
at  once,  and  panted  after  more,  yet  when  I  devoted 
myself  to  the  itinerancy  I  renounced  the  spirit,  and 
have  ever  since  dodged  all  kinds  of  Church  promo- 
tion. Some  may  think  it  did  not  require  very  hard 
dodging.  It  is  my  business  to  record  my  testimony, 
nevertheless.  Still  my  heart  was  made  glad  by  the 
election,  because  it  was  to  me  such  a  cheering 
demonstration  of  the  affection  of  my  fellow-laborers 
in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  This  was  more  than 
honor,  or  silver  and  gold.  And  then,  about  this 
time,  I  had  a  longing  desire  to  revisit  the  sea-board, 
and  especially  Boston,  because  it  was  the  only  sea- 
port of  consequence  on  our  coast  that  I  had  not 
seen.  The  brethren  of  the  Ohio  Conference  knew 
very  well  that  I  would  not  thunder  in  the  North; 
and  it  was  a  pure  expression  of  their  esteem.  Let 
it  be  understood  that  we  do  not  find  fault  with  those 
who  desire  distinguished  places,  because  they  think 
they  can  do  more  good;  but  we  would  warn  them 
that  the  higher  they  climb  up  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  the  more  thorns  and  briers  they 
will  pass  through.  I  have  never  envied  those  who 


GENEEAL    CONFERENCE.  397 

are  in  authority,  for  some  must  be.  The  love  of 
God  throws  down  all  distinction;  and  he  who  is 
good  is  my  brother,  whether  he  wears  the  thorny 
miter  of  a  Methodist  bishopric,  or  roasts  his  venison 
by  the  wild  fires  of  the  trackless  prairie. 

On  our  way  to  the  General  Conference  we  left 
Cleveland  about  dusk,  under  a  lowering  atmosphere, 
with  the  lake  sufficiently  rough  to  induce  seasick- 
ness in  those  who  were  not  accustomed  to  voyaging. 
Late  in  the  evening  supper  was  set.  As  we  had  no 
idea  how  many  hundred  passengers  were-  on  board, 
at  the  signal  given,  we  entered  the  dining-room, 
and  saw  a  very  long  table  crowded  with  eaters,  and 
as  many  more,  standing  back  on  each  side,  awaiting 
their  turn.  Our  happy  forerunners  ate  as  leisurely 
as  if  it  had  been  a  thanksgiving  board.  When  they 
were  shoveling  it  down  I  thought  to  myself  it  was 
a  useless  operation,  especially  as  it  regarded  the 
ladies,  some  of  whom  appeared  as  if  they  had  never 
seen  good  things  before;  for  I  believed  they  could 
not  retain  their  delicious  tenants  —  having  been  on 
deck  taking  a  scientific  view  of  the  prognostications. 
When  the  dishes  were  changed,  and  the  second  sig- 
nal given,  I  thought  I  would  take  a  reef  in  my  usual 
gentility;  so  made  a  dash,  but  it  was  not  a  dash  in. 
There  were  so  many  there  who  had  been  rougher 
raised  than  myself.  At  the  third  course  I  succeeded 
in  sitting  down,  with  about  two  hundred  of  the 
cream  of  the  gentility,  as  I  thought. 

After  supper  the  gale  freshened,  and  many  were 


398  THE    CROSS. 

seeking  convenient  stands  about  the  gunwale  where 
they  might  slyly  throw  away  their  fifty  cents'  worth ; 
others  were  strolling  about  the  cabin  like  buckeyed 
cows.  After  a  while  gagging  became  so  fashionable 
that  no  one  seemed  to  be  ashamed — sovereign  fash- 
ion! Some  of  our  preachers  made  from  three  to 
seven  offerings  to  Neptune,  if  he  deigns  to  range 
through  fresh-water  seas.  We  did  not,  however, 
charge  them  with  idolatry,  as  their  sacrifices  were 
unwilling.  About  midnight  the  chambermaids 
made  a  great  fuss  running  up  and  down  the  stairs 
of  the  ladies'  cabin.  We  asked  one  how  matters 
went  on  below.  She  said,  "  0,  sir,  I  wish  you  could 
see!  they  are  scattered  on  the  carpet,  and  in  their 
berths,  and  every-where;  nothing  but  gagging,  lam- 
entation, and  woe."  But  I  had  no  craving  desire 
to  behold  the  scene.  I  had  a  hungry  time  in  wit- 
nessing the  ingress,  and  could  dispense  with  behold- 
ing the  outcome.  At  first  I  had  some  little  appre- 
hension of  an  attack,  as  it  had  been  so  many  years 
since  I  had  followed  the  seas,  and  I  thought  there 
would  be  a  kind  of  disgrace  in  getting  seasick  on  a 
lake.  But  I  had  no  nausea  at  all,  and  was  good  for 
my  breakfast.  So  I  wandered  about  the  decks,  and 
enjoyed  the  storm,  which  awakened  so  many  remem- 
brances in  my  mind  that  I  could  not  sleep.  As  night 
set  in,  something  like  the  following  conversation  was 
heard  among  the  hands,  on  the  between-decks : 

"We  may  calculate  on  having  a  greasy  time  be- 
fore morning." 


GENERAL    CONFERENCE.  399 

"Why  so?" 

"Why,  because  I  never  in  my  life  sailed  with  a 
white  horse  on  board  without  smoking  for  it." 

"  You  do  n't  say  we  have  a  white  horse  on  this 
boat?" 

"Yes,  worse  still,  we  have  two  as  snow-white 
creters  with  us  as  you  ever  clapped  your  skylights 
on." 

"You  don't  say!" 

"Well,  I  can  give  you  a  bit  of  comfort  to  splice 
on  to  that.  We  have  about  a  dozen  Methodist 
preachers  above,  if  I  rightly  twig  the  cut  of  their 
jib,  going  to  the  Gineral  Conference,  as  they  call 
it." 

"Goola!  if  I  had  known  that,  this  child  would 
not  have  put  his  foot  on  board,  this  trip.  White 
horses,  and  Methodist  preachers!  Look  out,  boys, 
for  a  rip-sneezer !" 

We  could  but  meditate  awhile  on  the  exactness 
with  which  the  traditions  of  superstition  have  been 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation.  Sail- 
ors have  been  shy  of  ministerial  passengers  ever 
since  Jonah  was  launched  overboard.  This  super- 
stition has  been  cherished  more  by  the  erroneous 
doctrine  that  the  devil  has  peculiar  privileges  with 
the  wind  and  the  sea.  This  they  take  as  granted, 
without  any  waste  of  rhetoric  or  logic;  and  as  they 
know  that  preachers  meddle  a  great  deal  with  his 
matters,  they  conclude  that  Old  Nick  would  not  be 
so  green  as  to  let  slip  a  fair  opportunity  of  making 


400  THE    CROSS. 

them  feel  his  wrath.  If  sailors  would  study  the 
narrative  of  Jonah,  in  connection,  they  would  see 
that  the  "Lord" — not  Satan — "sent  out  a  great 
wind  into  the  sea."  This  is  agreeable  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Bible:  "It  is  He  that  commandeth  the 
stormy  wind,  that  lifteth  up  the  waves  thereof." 
Moreover,  Jonah  was  following  the  counsel  of  the 
wicked  one,  in  attempting  to  flee  from  his  duty, 
and  his  God;  and  it  would  be  more  rational  to  sup- 
pose that  his  deceiver,  if  he  had  it  in  his  power, 
would  have  afforded  him  every  facility — a  fair  wind 
and  smooth  seas — in  carrying  out  his  flight,  even 
beyond  recovery.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  it  is 
the  Lord  who  holds  the  helm  of  affairs  on  the  land, 
and  on  the  sea — blow  high,  or  blow  low — then  it  is 
highly  unreasonable  to  suppose  that,  as  a  general 
thing,  he  will  destroy  his  embassadors,  whom  he 
has  so  impressively  sent  to  the  perishing  nations  of 
the  earth.  Indeed,  considering  the  multitude  of 
ministers  who  are  passing  and  repassing  on  the  seas, 
instances  of  shipwreck  are  few  and  far  between. 

The  case  of  the  lamented  Cookman  stands  out 
from  the  general  rule  of  Providence  in  bold  contra- 
distinction. He  and  his  shipmates  sank  down  in 
one  of  the  secret  places  of  the  Almighty;  and  the 
attendant  circumstances  have  not  yet  reached  the 
living.  The  sufferings  of  the  crew  and  passengers, 
in  the  face  of  death  and  eternity,  might  have  been 
sufficiently  protracted  to  have  admitted  of  serious 
consideration,  deep  contrition,  and  faith  unfeigned; 


GENERAL    CONFEBENCE.  401 

and,  under  the  administrations  of  such  an  able 
preacher,  the  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  sufferers  might 
have  found  their  homes  in  heaven.  If  this  was  so, 
who  would  not  say  that  such  a  great  salvation  was 
worthy  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  most  unblemished  of 
our  flock?  Who  would  not  say  that  God  crowned 
his  seraphic  ministry  with  a  most  triumphant  close  ? 
As  the  disjointed  steamer  makes  her  last  plunge, 
methinks  I  see  his  released  spirit  bounding  above 
the  foaming  surface  of  the  stormy  deep,  and,  in  its 
homeward  flight,  carrying  his  last  sheaves  with  him. 

"Servant  of  God,  well  done!" 

In  the  account  of  another  steamship  disaster,  we 
are  told  that  many  of  the  passengers  were  preserved 
several  days  on  the  hurricane-deck.  As  the  last 
flickerings  of  hope  began  to  withdraw  from  their 
achipg  bosoms,  it  was  asked,  in  all  the  agony  of 
humbled  nature,  "Is  there  no  Christian  on  board?" 
One  who  had  carried  himself  throughout  the  pas- 
sage with  a  meek  and  lowly  bearing,  but,  neverthe- 
less, had  his  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  felt, 
doubtless,  something  of  that  responsibility  that  our 
Savior  entertained,  when  the  high-priest  said,  "I 
adjure  thee  by  the  living  God,  tell  us  whether  thou 
be  the  Christ?"  And  he  slowly  rose  up,  and  said, 
"Friends,  I  am  an  unworthy  servant  of  the  Lord." 
Scarcely  had  the  last  word  fallen  from  his  lips,  before 
he  was  surrounded  by  all  the  passengers,  male  and 
female,  imploring  him  to  pray  for  their  wretched 


402  THE    CROSS. 

souls.  He  fell  on  his  knees,  and  the  grace,  the 
unction,  the  fire  of  God's  love  which  had  been  pent 
up  in  his  swelling  bosom,  like  the  flames  of  a  labor- 
ing volcano,  burst  forth  in  mighty  irruptions  of  con- 
fession, intercession,  and  praise.  Mercy  and  light 
came  down;  confidence  in  the  providence  of  God 
sprang  up;  a  sweet  serenity  lighted  up  every  coun- 
tenance; holy  purposes  were  formed,  and  the  Lord, 
in  answer  to  prayer,  soon  delivered  them  out  of  all 
their  distress,  and  brought  them  to  the  desired 
haven.  Thus  does  the  Lord  often  afford  to  his 
ministers  and  people  opportunities  of  working  their 
passage,  by  the  salvation  of  souls,  without  destroy- 
ing their  bodies. 

At  other  times  the  Lord  displays  to  his  preachers 
his  power  and  his  glory,  in  forms  in  which  they  are 
no  where  seen  but  in  a  storm  at  sea,  that  their 
reverence  may  be  deepened,  their  theology  im- 
proved, their  imagination  corrected,  their  souls 
ballasted,  and  they  better  prepared  to  discourse  of 
the  attributes  of  the  Almighty  and  his  marvelous 
mercy  to  the  children  of  men. 

In  the  mean  time,  while  we  admit  that  the  super- 
stition of  the  sailors  is  fully  as  pious  as  the  clair- 
voyance, prescience,  and  witchcraft  pretendedly  con- 
nected with  animal  magnetism  and  spiritual  rap- 
pings,  still  the  fog  must  be  swept  away.  The 
"angels  of  the  waters"  are  abroad  and  are  at  work. 
The  holy  Gospel,  like  the  mystic  albatross — feared 
by  the  wicked,  revered  by  the  good — is  shedding 


GENERAL     CONFERENCE.  403 

its  glorious  light.  And  doubtless  the  time  will 
come  when  sailors  will  fear  carrying  blacklegs  more 
than  carrying  white  horses — will  fear  packs  of  cards 
more  than  lots  of  Bibles — will  fear  bar-keepers  and 
grog-bruisers  more  than  Methodist  preachers.  Yea, 
in  the  storm  and  in  the  calm,  in  life  and  in  death, 
they  will  know  that  all  things  shall  work  together 
for  good  to  them  who  love  the  Lord;  to  them  who 
are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose. 

We  pushed  on  toward  Boston,  expecting  the  city 
was  looking  hard  for  us,  as  they  had  never  had  a 
General  Conference  before;  but  when  we  put  up  at 
our  tavern  we  found  no  one  knew,  either  the  tav- 
ern-keeper, lodgers,  or  attaches,  where  the  Confer- 
ence was  to  be  held,  or  whether  there  was  any  such 
thing  as  a  General  Conference.  We  looked  sur- 
prised at  them,  and  they  looked  back,  surprised  at 
our  surprise.  The  tavern  lodged,  but  did  not  feed 
travelers.  We  got  neat  rooms,  and  were  told  that 
whenever  we  felt  like  eating,  there  was  a  separate 
establishment  below,  where  we  might  be  accommo- 
dated. This  was  found  to  be  a  great  advantage. 
We  were  not  obliged  to  pay  for  things  we  never 
ate.  We  might  breakfast  at  any  hour  from  sun- 
rise to  noon;  and  dine  any  hour  from  noon  to 
night.  If  we  had  no  appetite  we  might  omit 
breakfast,  or  dinner,  or  supper,  or  all  three.  We 
might  eat  cheap  things,  or  things  costly,  and  we 
made  up  the  opinion,  if  a  man  only  has  where  to 
lay  his  head,  he  may  live  cheaper  in  Boston  than  he 


404  THE    CROSS. 

can  any  where  else — in  town  or  country;  but  he 
must  pay  as  he  goes — no  chance  to  swindle  a  week's 
board.  We,  however,  soon  found  our  allotted 
homes.  It  was  my  good  providence  to  be  placed 
in  a  pious,  intelligent,  social  family  of  the  name  of 
Chandler.  It  is  astonishing  to  myself  that,  in  the 
course  of  four  or  five  weeks,  I  should  have  formed 
such  a  tender  attachment  to  a  family  I  had  never 
seen  before.  But  they  have  ever  since  had  a  place 
in  the  catalogue  of  my  friends  and  relatives. 

On  my  first  Sabbath  it  was  in  my  way  to  prom- 
enade the  wharves.  I  can  not  express  the  tran- 
quillity that  pervaded  my  whole  being,  as  I  snuffed 
up  the  most  pleasant  of  all  earth's  effluvium — the 
aroma  of  the  shipping;  and  as  I  turned  a  corner 
where  a  large  anchor — best  bower — was  planted  in 
the  earth,  I  slapped  its  flukes  with  my  hand  with 
so  much  affection  and  faith  unfeigned,  that  it  rasped 
my  whole  constitution,  and  almost  made  me  dance 
Juba,  as  the  negroes  say;  and  tears  of  fond  remem- 
brance rolled  down  my  cheeks.  I  preached  in  Bos- 
ton and  East  Boston;  but  the  happiest  Sunday  I 
had  was  at  Scituate,  a  place  principally  peopled 
with  sailors  or  those  in  connection  with  the  sea. 
Here,  standing  on  a  gentle  hill,  the  whole  coast 
to  my  right  could  be  seen  almost  to  Cape  Cod, 
while  before  me  spread  out  the  blue  sea.  Vessels, 
large  and  small,  were  coming  in  and  going  out,  and 
scenes  of  by-gone  days  swept  over  my  mind,  and 
all  the  remembrances  of  youth  beckoned  me  out; 


GENERAL    CONFERENCE.  405 

but  my  anchor  was  cast  in  the  West.  How  strange 
it  is  that  the  pleasurable  excitements  of  the  sea  are 
engraved  on  our  mind,  while  its  disasters  and  toils 
have  perished  in  the  wake!  This  was  also  a  day 
of  unusual  religious  enjoyment  with  myself,  and  I 
believe  with  every  body  else. 

The  most  exciting  question  of  tKis  General  Con- 
ference was  the  pew  question.  Our  readers  all 
know  the  result.  Whether  it  was  in  consequence 
of  the  unusually-long  railroad  ride,  or  sedentary 
work,  or  a  return  to  our  old  delicious  diet — oysters 
and  fish — I  know  not,  I  was  extremely  sluggish, 
and,  under  commonplace  debate,  inclined  to  doze. 
One  day  the  brethren  were  debating  about  a  bishop 
for  Africa.  The  great  concern  with  them  seemed 
to  be  the  fatality  of  the  climate  and  the  danger  a 
bishop  would  run  in  landing  on  the  coast.  We  had 
to  listen  to,  what  seemed  to  me,  exaggerated  ac- 
counts of  that  horrid  strip  of  earth,  till  I  became 
somewhat  torpid  and  overpowered  with  something 
which  was  part  dreamy,  part  fanciful,  and  part  a 
morbid  invention  of  the  mind;  and  methought  I 
saw  an  American  packet,  backing  and  filling  on  the 
coast  of  Africa.  Then  I  saw  a  native  pirogue  come 
out,  and  a  letter  sent  on  shore,  announcing  the 
arrival  of  a  Methodist  bishop.  I  looked  and  beheld 
a  procession  of  colored  brethren  embark  in  a  coast- 
er, and  making  for  the  packet  she  laid  her  bowsprit 
on  the  tafierel  of  the  ship.  Then  I  saw  the  candi- 
dates shin  out  on  the  bowsprit,  while  the  bishop 


406  THE    CROSS. 

touched  their  heads  with  the  longest  boat-hook  on 
board,  and  said,  "Take  thou  authority,"  etc.  Then 
the  captain  cried  out,  "Fill  away,  boys!  tail  up  for 
Boston,  the  land  of  immortality  and  life,  where 
bishops  never  die!"  I  thought  how  many  blas- 
phemous sinners,  for  the  mere  sake  of  gain,  had 
explored  the  sickly  rivers  and  putrefying  fens  of 
Africa  to  steal  or  buy  negroes,  and  had  returned  in 
safety;  and  yet  how  doubtful  we  were  about  trust- 
ing a  bishop  there  for  one  week  to  do  the  work  of 
God!  I  was  roused  by  indignation,  and  felt  like 
saying,  if  I  could  have  slipped  in  a  word,  which  I 
could  not,  "Mr.  President,  I  do  not  desire  the 
office  of  a  bishop — if  I  did,  it  would  be  no  sin,  as  it 
is  a  good  work — but  if  it  could  be  made  consistent 
with  our  constitution  to  make  me  simply  a  nuncio 
for  six  months,  I  will  go  to  Africa,  sit  one  week  in 
Conference,  and  ordain  the  preachers,  and  come 
back,  or  Mary  Lorrain  shall  be  left  a  widow  on  the 
banks  of  the  Belle  Riviere.'11 

The  Conference  being  over  we  returned  with 
astonishing  rapidity.  At  Buffalo  I  took  a  carriage 
in  the  evening,  in  the  midst  of  a  thunder-storm,  for 
the  steamer.  A  gentleman  and  his  wife  were  with 
me.  I  never  heard  a  woman  pray  harder  than  she 
did  for  her  husband  to  wait  till  the  next  day.  She 
wept  and  declared  that  they  were  going  as  to  the 
slaughter.  I  could  not  blame  her  in  view  of  the 
ragged  lightning  and  bursting  thunder,  that  were 
playing  over  our  heads;  but  he  told  her  that  she 


GENERAL    CONFERENCE.  407 

was  asking  what  was  impossible,  his  trunks  and 
money  were  all  on  board.  We  got  on  board  and 
put  out  on  the  dark  lake,  in  the  hight  of  the  storm. 
After  we  had  cleared  the  pier  I  went  down  in  the 
cabin.  A  preacher  put  his  head  out  of  a  berth, 
and  said, 

"0,  here  is  brother  Lorrain!  I  am  so  glad  you 
are  come!  Now  I  feel  safe!" 

"Brother,"  said  I,  "look  here,  don't  pin  your 
faith  on  my  sleeve.  The  Lord  could  drown  me  as 
easy  as  any  one  on  board." 

"Yes,"  said  he,  "but  you  know  how  to  manage 
the  thing." 

I  told  him  the  boat  was  under  the  supervision  of 
the  captain,  and  if  he  chose  to  drive  her  to  ruin,  I 
would  not  rise  in  mutiny;  but  he  need  not  be 
alarmed,  all  was  well.  We  soon  resumed  the  cars, 
and  got  to  home — sweet  home. 

I  found  that,  in  my  absence,  the  spirit-rappers 
had  invaded  my  territory;  but  by  the  help  of  the 
Lord,  we  soon  laid  them  as  far  as  the  Church  was 
concerned.  We  had  good  times  and  large  congre- 
gations the  whole  year.  The  Lord  bless  Fulton, 
and  supply  them  with  men  of  warm  hearts  and 
sound  minds! 


408  THE    CROSS. 


XXXIII. 
BETHEL   CAUSE. 

1853-54.  HAVING  been  solicited,  for  several 
years,  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  "Western  Sea- 
men's Friend  Society,"  I  at  last  consented.  The 
principal  work  assigned  me  was  to  edit  the  "  West- 
ern Pilot,"  a  paper  exclusively  devoted  to  the  Soci- 
ety. This  work  I  attended  to  industriously  for 
two  years,  attending  to  all  the  work — packing  and 
directing  to  upward  of  two  thousand  subscribers. 
My  Sabbath  work  was  to  assist  the  chaplain  at  the 
floating  Bethel,  and  to  travel,  preach  on  the  subject, 
make  collections,  and  gather  subscribers.  I  was 
first  solicited  by  brother  Thomas  Cooper  to  engage 
in  this  work.  He  was  a  young  minister  of  extra- 
ordinary promise. 

There  is  an  opinion  which  is  entertained  by  some 
good  members  of  the  Church,  which  should  be  cor- 
rected. It  is  thought  that  the  Bethel  cause  is  a 
novelty — one  of  the  eccentric  experiments  which 
the  nineteenth  century,  fruitful  in  theories,  has 
rolled  up-;  and  that  its  results  are  of  doubtful  dis- 
putation. This  view  is  very  erroneous.  Our  enter- 
prise is  coexistent  with  Christianity  itself.  The 
great  High-Priest  of  our  profession  was,  emphat- 


BETHEL    CAUSE.  409 

ically  speaking,  a  Bethel  minister.  The  ordinary 
arena  of  his  labor  was  the  sea-shore.  He  who  reads 
the  New  Testament,  keeping  this  assertion  in  sight, 
will  be  surprised  in  noticing  how  much  of  our 
Lord's  ministry  was  about  the  lakes.  Indeed,  he 
admitted  it  himself,  in  that  solemn  warning  that  he 
gave  to  the  towns  and  cities  on  their  borders.  He 
made  occasional  excursions  to  Jerusalem,  and  else- 
where; but  we  soon  trace  him  back  again  to  the 
waters;  and  it  is  said,  "And  he  began  again  to 
teach  by  the  seaside."  He  began  again — that  is,  he 
returned  to  his  accustomed  field  of  labor. 

Now,  we  contend  that  this  course — singular  'as  it 
was — was  most  reasonable;  and  that  it  is  no  new 
thing  to  preach  on  the  sea-shore,  or  on  the  boats 
and  wharves.  In  all  ages,  the  seas  and  the  water- 
courses have  been  in  advance  in  wickedness,  and 
usually  tend  to  corrupt  more  deeply  the  land; 
therefore,  there  was  both  mercy  and  wisdom  in  our 
Savior's  labors  to  save  first  those  who  were  nearest 
to  ruin.  The  prophet  Esaias  saw  this  beginning  of 
the  Gospel,  where  he  said,  "The  land  of  Zebulon, 
and  the  land  of  Napthalim,  by  the  way  of  the  sea, 
beyond  Jordan,  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles:  the  people 
that  sat  in  darkness  saw  great  light;  and  to  those 
which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death,  light 
has  sprung  up."  The  waters  still  have  a  tendency 
to  corrupt  the  world,  and  will  have  till  their 
streams  are  purified  by  grace.  When  we  send  a 

missionary  to  heathen  lands,  he  not  only  preaches 

35 


THE    CROSS. 

the  incomparable  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  but  insists 
upon  their  purifying  power.  He  shows  that  Chris- 
tian faith  works  by  love,  and  produces  practical 
holiness  in  those  who  believe.  But  presently  a  ship 
comes  into  port  bearing  the  flag  of  some  Christian 
nation.  The  natives  now  expect  to  see  a  community 
of  living  saints.  But  when  they  see  some  of  the 
crew  staggering  along  the  beach,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  intoxicating  drink;  when  they  see  others 
engaged  in  strife  and  bloody  rows;  when  they  see 
others  invading  their  family  peace,  corrupting  the 
youth,  and  spreading  disgusting  contagion  through 
their  community;  and  above  all,  when  they  hear 
the  name  of  Christ,  which  the  missionary  has  taught 
them  to  venerate,  blasphemed  by  those  whom  they 
suppose  to  be  his  professed  followers,  their  hopes 
sink  within  them,  and  they  begin  to  conclude  that, 
whatever  may  be  the  claims  of  the  Gospel  as  a 
theory,  it  is  worthless  in  its  results — and  they  cling 
with  renewed  tenacity  to  their  old  and  time-hon- 
ored superstitions. 

We  once  heard  a  converted  Indian  telling  a  large 
congregation  of  the  dampening  influence  that  the 
conduct  of  wicked  white  men  had  on  him,  even 
after  he  had  admitted  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  and 
was  earnestly  seeking  its  consolations.  But  he  ob- 
served that  in  traveling  through  our  settlements,  he 
had  become  satisfied  on  that  point.  He  met  with  a 
goodly  number  who  practiced  the  virtues  that  his 
missionary  had  preached;  and  he  found  that  among 


BETHEL    CAUSE.  411 

both  the  white  folks  and  Indians,  it  was  only  those 
who  obeyed  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  who  felt  its 
power.  But  if  we  confine  our  observations  to  our 
Western  waters,  who  does  not  see  their  corrupting 
influence?  Why  is  it  that  wickedness  prevails  so 
much  more  in  our  lake  or  river  ports,  than  it  does 
in  our  rural  or  inland  villages?  Why  is  it  that  in 
our  great  commercial  cities  the  nearer  you  approach 
our  water  streets,  or  wharves,  the  deeper  you  de- 
scend among  the  haunts  of  sin?  Here  they  have 
their  grog-shops,  their  screens,  their  brothels,  and 
unless  the  tide  of  iniquity,  on  the  waters,  is  staid, 
it  will  grow  with  the  growth,  and  strengthen  with 
the  strength  of  our  ever-swelling  population.  In- 
deed, when  we  look  at  the  great  marts  of  Europe, 
such  as  London  and  Liverpool,  we  find  whole  streets 
and  alleys  abandoned  by  the  reputable,  and  given 
up  to  dissipation,  lasciviousness,  and  wantonness ;  and 
over  these  dreary  wastes  no  Sabbath  shines.  Why 
should  we  wonder  that  Christ  began,  and  continued 
during  his  mission,  to  preach  on  the  sea-shore? 
Why  should  we  call  this  a  new  enterprise? 

As  it  regards  the  results,  they  can  not  be  of 
doubtful  cast;  for  our  Savior  was  successful.  The 
people  heard  him  gladly.  They  followed  him  up 
and  down,  and  around  the  coast,  and  frequently  so 
pressed  upon  him,  that  he  had  to  enter  into  vessels, 
in  order  to  address  the  immense  crowd  that  covered 
the  landing.  When  he  entered  into  a  house,  it  was 
blockaded  beyond  ingress  or  egress.  Many  believed, 


412  THE    CROSS. 

and  the  Church  of  Christ  was  built  up.  He  drew  the 
principal  part  of  his  apostles  from  the  sea.  When 
the  proud  Pharisees  said  they  were  ignorant  and 
unlearned  men,  they  meant  no  more  than  that  they 
were  not  scientific,  or  what  we  in  our  day  would 
call  classical  men.  They  doubtless  had  some  educa- 
tion, and  were  men  of  sound  mind,  good  judgment, 
bland  disposition,  and  well  furnished  with  natural 
gifts,  necessary  to  the  ministry.  They  were  the 
best  men,  all  things  considered,  that  could  be 
selected  out  of  the  Christian  Church  at  that  time; 
and  that  Church  was  a  Bethel.  Our  Lord  did  not 
mean  to  reflect  on  sanctified  learning;  for  as  soon 
as  the  Church  could  afford  it,  he  added  to  them 
Saul  of  Tarsus,  who  helped  them  mightily.  Our 
Lord  began  on  the  sea,  and  we  have  no  doubt  he 
will  end  there;  for  sailors  are  eminently  calculated 
to  carry  the  Gospel  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  We 
do  not  mean  altogether  as  ministers  proper.  We 
know  that  well-educated  ministers  are  necessary  to 
head  our  missions;  but  God  has  reserved  to  himself 
great  missionary  power  in  the  membership.  An 
apostle  says  of  them,  "  You  are  a  chosen  generation, 
a  royal  priesthood!"  Saul  did,  unintentionally, 
great  good  while  he  was  persecuting  the  saints;  for 
then  the  brethren  were  scattered  every-where — but 
as  they  went  they  preached  Jesus  and  the  resurrec- 
tion. These  were  laymen;  for  we  are  told  that  the 
apostles  stood  their  ground.  God  sent  the  member- 
ship— driving  them  before  a  gale  of  persecution. 


BETHEL    CAUSE.  413 

So  God  will  send  converted  sailors  to  be,  under 
Christ,  for  salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  He 
will  send  them  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  by 
love  to  their  families,  by  a  sense  of  the  duty  of 
providing  for  their  own,  by  an  undying  attachment 
to  their  profession,  on  voyages  the  most  distant  and 
adventurous,  and  wherever  they  touch  they  will 
leave  a  savor  of  life  unto  life.  A  learned  ministry 
will  have  the  advantage  in  some  respects  —  the 
sailor-laity  in  others.  Sailors  are  physically  supe- 
rior; they  have  passed  through  all  kinds  of  calms 
and  storms,  sunshine  and  frost,  and  their  constitu- 
tions have  become  acclimated  to  every  latitude. 
They  will  not  stand  before  the  heathen  with  eyes 
almost  destroyed  by  the  midnight  lamp,  and  each 
with  a  pair  of  green  spectacles  on  his  nose.  They 
will  not  whisper  with  a  voice  rendered  almost  in- 
audible by  pulmonary  weakness;  but  standing  on 
the  uncovered  deck,  will  lift  up  their  voice  like  a 
trumpet,  and  show  the  people  their  transgression, 
and  the  idolatrous  natives  their  sins.  Again,  sailors 
are  superior  in  experience.  The  learned  minister  is 
needed,  and  so  is  the  experienced  layman.  Those 
who  are  educated  for  the  ministry  go  into  the  col- 
lege about  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age. 
They  come  out  in  ripened  manhood.  All  this 
brightest  part  of  their  lives  they  have  been  ex- 
cluded, in  a  measure,  from  the  world;  and  what  do 
they  know  of  men,  matters,  and  things?  It  is  not 
BO  with  the  adventurous  Christian  sailor.  He  ha3 


414  THE    CROSS. 

been  compelled  to  study  human  nature,  in  all  its 
eccentric  windings.  He  has  marked  it  in  its  various 
working,  in  different  positions,  and  under  multiform 
circumstances;  and  he  is  able  to  pencil  down  the 
sinner's  presumptuous  cruise,  with  all  its  traverse 
sailing,  backing  and  filling,  and  to  rout  him  out  of 
every  hidden  cove,  and  refuges  of  lies,  till  his  sins 
become  hateful,  and  he  flies  from  himself  to  a  sin- 
pardoning  God. 

But  what  do  we  mean  by  thus  magnifying  our 
work?  Do  we  mean  that  the  voice  of  the  Lord  is 
heard  only  on  the  waters,  and  that  our  brethren 
of  the  interior  should  forsake  their  comfortable 
tabernacles,  and  come  down  to  pray  with  us  on  the 
sea-shore?  No;  but  we  do  mean  to  battle  the  idea 
that  our  undertaking  is  a  new  thing.  When  some 
are  solicited  to  lend  a  hand,  they  look  wondrously 
wild,  and  say,  "Why,  brother,  this  is  a  new  thing. 
We  have  never  heard  of  it  before;  it  has  not  been 
spread  before  our  people  before,  and  we  must  take 
time  to  consider."  What!  have  we  never  heard  of 
Christ  preaching  on  the  shores  of  Galilee;  of  his 
being  pressed  by  the  multitudes  so  as  to  be  driven 
on  board  a  ship,  and  being  put  to  the  necessity  of 
shoving  off  from  the  shore  and  dropping  anchor,  lest 
the  vessed  should  be  swamped  by  the  multitude 
crowding  to  hear  the  Word  of  Life?  Have  we 
never  heard  of  his  crossing  and  recrossing  the  lake, 
of  the  sailing,  and  rowing,  and  racing  of  vessels  and 
boats  to  overtake  him  in  his  itinerant  career? 


BETHEL    CAUSE.  415 

Have  we  never  heard  of  his  excursion  to  the  sea- 
coast  of  Tyre  and  Sidon?  Indeed,  the  greater  part 
of  the  Gospel  scenery  is  laid  about  the  sea  and  the 
adjoining  coasts.  And  we  claim  that  the  Bethel 
work  is  not  new,  as  far  as  its  essence  is  concerned. 
Then  we  claim  that  no  cloud  of  uncertainty  can  rest 
upon  the  result.  Our  Lord  did  not  labor  as  one 
beating  the  air — a  great  company  believed.  The 
Bethel  ministers  do  not  now  spend  their  strength 
for  naught.  Where  is  the  Church  in  Boston  that  is 
accomplishing  more  than  the  mariners'  Churches? 
Where  is  the  Church  that  is  doing  more  permanent 
good  than  the  Norwegian  Bethel  and  others  in  New 
York?  Here  in  the  West  much  has  been  done  on 
the  lakes,  the  rivers,  the  canals,  and  much  more 
will  be  done  when  the  means  of  the  Seamen  Friend 
society  become  more  ample.  But  the  crowning  argu- 
ment on  this  head — that  which  should  sweep  away 
every  vestige  of  mist  from  all  minds — is  the  declara- 
tion of  the  Bible. 

"The  abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  converted 
unto  thee."  Here  that  which  is  the  duty  of  our 
citizens  is  also  their  interest,  and  should,  therefore, 
be  their  delight — the  regeneration  of  our  waters  is 
the  salvation  of  the  land.  The  bread  that  is  cast 
upon  them  will  be  found  after  many  days. 

The  character  of  the  sailor  is  but  partially  under- 
stood by  the  bulk  of  mankind,  especially  that  por- 
tion of  it  that  dwells  in  the  interior  districts. 
When  the  sailor  comes  rolling  along  through  the 


416  THE    CROSS. 

country,  he  is  regarded  as  a  rare  curiosity.  His 
language,  his  gait,  his  habitudes  are  closely  scanned ; 
and  his  manner  of  operating,  although  generally 
founded  on  the  true  philosophy  of  things,  and  con- 
sequently strictly  correct,  is  often  a  subject-matter 
of  ridicule.  But  Jack  smiles  at  their  botheration 
in  coiling  against  the  sun,  is  diverted  at  their  com- 
ing down  their  scuttles  face  foremost,  instead  of 
bear-fashion,  laughs  heartily  at  their  granny-knots, 
and  passes  on  in  perfect  good-humor.  It  is,  more- 
over, thought  by  many  that,  'bating  the  dangers 
and  occasional  disasters  to  which  seamen  are  ex- 
posed, their  vocation  is  One  of  extraordinary  pleas- 
ure and  indolence.  It  is  true  that  there  are  times 
and  seasons  when  the  profession  is  pleasant  and 
even  fascinating;  but  this  state  of  things  is  liable 
to  sudden  and  grievous  interruptions.  The  sailor 
expects  them,  and  his  mind  is  at  all  times  braced 
sharp  up  for  a  sudden  transition  from  a  state  of  rest 
and  ease  to  labors  the  most  arduous  and  sufferings 
the  most  extreme.  Indeed,  there  is  something  in 
the  unparalleled  and  terrific  grandeur  of  the  strip- 
ping gale,  in  connection  with  the  pride  of  profes- 
sion, that  makes  the  sailor's  heart  swell  with  bound- 
less ambition.  And  when  the  seas  and  skies  appear 
to  be  tumbled  into  lawless  and  sublime  confusion, 
he  feels  glad  that  he  is  there,  and  is  proud  to 
consider  himself  a  necessary  item  in  the  driving 
tempest.  Then  it  is  that  he  is  prepared  for  deeds 
of  mighty  daring.  "We  doubt,  indeed,  whether 


BETHEL    CAUSE.  417 

there  is  any  thing  in  all  the  pomp  of  war,  the 
rattling  of  the  martial  drum,  the  clangor  of  the 
rousing  trumpet,  the  roaring  of  cannon,  the  moment- 
ous vibrations  of  mighty  empires  poised  in  the 
scales  of  battle,  which  can  rouse  the  ambition  of 
mortal  man,  as  the  warring  elements  and  rushing, 
white-crested  billows  rouse  the  ambition  of  the 
sailor. 

"  With  such  mad  seas  the  daring  Gama  fought 
For  many  a  day,  and  many  a  dreadful  night, 
Incessant,  laboring  round  the  stormy  Cape." 

There  are  often  severe  hardships  endured  in  the 
ordinary  merchant-service.  We  have  been  some- 
times, for  weeks  off  the  coast  of  America,  contend- 
ing with  driving  gales,  and  adverse  winds,  accom- 
panied with  alternate  showers  of  rain  and  snow; 
compelled  to  shift  our  clothes  till  not  a  dry  garment 
could  be  found  in  the  forecastle.  In  the  mean  time 
the  wind  would  fall  and  rise  continually,  so  as  to 
keep  the  hands  employed  all  the  time  in  making 
and  taking  in  sail.  Often  have  we  retired  from  the 
watch  with  our  clothes  soaking  wet,  tumbled,  ex- 
hausted, into  the  berth,  and  under  our  friendly 
blankets,  we  have  soon  fallen  into  a  delightful 
hydrological  sweat;  but  still  tormented  with  the 
idea  that  every  moment  we  might  hear  the  cry  of 
"all  hands  ahoy!"  while  the  indisputable  certainty 
of  having  to  bundle  up  at  the  expiration  of  four 
hours,  diffused  its  bitterness  through  all  our  dreams. 
But  what  is  all  this  in  comparison  with  the  suffer- 


418  THE    CROSS. 

ings  endured  in  other  departments  of  sea  service — 
the  exploring  expeditions?  True,  these  are  few  and 
far  between,  and  are  sometimes  of  fatal  termination ; 
their  distress,  perhaps,  far  exceeding  the  fancy  of 
a  British  poet,  although  that  is  sufficiently  doleful: 

"  Miserable  they !  who,  here  entangled  in  the  gathering  ice, 
Take  their  last  look  of  the  descending  sun, 
While,  full  of  death,  and  fierce  with  tempest  frost, 
The  long,  long  night,  incumbent  o'er  their  heads, 
Falls  horrible.     Such  was  the  Briton's  fate, 
As  with  first  prow — what  have  not  Britons  dared? — 
He  for  the  passage  sought,  attempted  since 
So  much  in  vain,  and  seeming  to  be  shut 
By  jealous  Nature  with  eternal  bars, 
In  these  fell  regions — in  Arzina  caught, 
And  to  the  stormy  deep  his  idle  ship 
Immediate  sealed,  he  with  his  hapless  crew, 
Each  full  exerted  at  his  several  task, 
Froze  into  statues;  to  the  cordage  glued 
The  sailor,  and  the  pilot  to  the  helm." 

Multitudes  engaged  in  the  whale-fisheries  pass 
through  labors  more  severe,  sufferings  as  intense. 
We  have  been  speaking  of  the  enterprise  and  pro- 
verbial endurance  of  seamen  in  general,  without 
regard  to  national  distinction.  The  Dutch,  at  an 
early  period,  were  preeminent  in  naval  enterprise. 
The  English,  at  a  later  day,  became  famous.  But 
we  must  say  it — and  we  likely  would  say  it,  if  only 
an  emigrant  of  yesterday  on  these  shores — that 
American  seamen,  in  this  day,  are  rather  in  ad- 
vance of  all  others  in  point  of  enterprise  and  marine 
daring. 

As  early  as  the  year  1775,  the  Americans  had 


BETHEL    CAUSE.  419 

more  ships  engaged  in  whaling  than  England, 
France,  and  Holland  combined.  Four  thousand 
American  sailors  were  then  employed  in  this  work. 
Mr.  Burke,  in  speaking  of  the  colonies  in  that  day, 
holds  this  highly-complimentary  language : 

"Look  at  the  manner  in  which  the  people  of 
New  England  have  of  late  carried  on  the  whale- 
fishery.  While  we  follow  them  among  the  trembling 
mountains  of  ice,  and  behold  them  penetrating  into 
the  deepest  recesses  of  Hudson's  Bay  and  Davis's 
Straits,  while  we  are  looking  for  them  beneath 
the  Arctic  circle,  we  hear  that  they  have  pierced 
into  the  opposite  region  of  polar  cold — that  they 
are  at  the  antipodes,  and  engaged  under  the  frozen 
Serpent  of  the  South.  Falkland  Island,  which 
seemed  too  remote  and  romantic  an  object  for  the 
grasp  of  national  ambition,  is  but  a  stage  and  rest- 
ing-place in  the  progress  of  their  victorious  indus- 
try. Nor  is  the  equatorial  heat  more  discouraging 
to  them  than  the  accumulated  Winter  of  both  the 
poles.  We  know  that,  while  some  of  them  draw 
the  line  and  strike  the  harpoon  on  the  coast  of 
Africa,  others  run  the  longitude,  and  pursue  their 
gigantic  game  along  the  coast  of  Brazil.  No  ocean 
but  what  is  vexed  with  their  fisheries — no  climate 
that  is  not  witness  to  their  toils.  Neither  the  per- 
severance of  Holland,  nor  the  activity  of  France, 
nor  the  dexterous  and  firm  sagacity  of  English  en- 
terprise ever  carried  this  perilous  mode  of  hardy 
enterprise  to  the  extent  to  which  it  has  been  pushed 


420  THE    CEOSS. 

by  this  recent  people — a  people  who  are  still,  as  it 
were,  in  the  gristle,  and  not  yet  hardened  into  the 
bone  of  manhood." 

The  American  sailor  is  also  superior  in  naval 
warfare.  We  do  not  mean  that  he  is  hardier  or 
more  fearless  than  the  British  tar.  It  is  enough, 
in  these  particulars,  that  the  children  be  as  their 
fathers.  But  there  are  circumstances  *of  national 
usages  and  complexion  that  raise  the  American 
above  his  fellows,  as  there  are  peculiarities  that 
damp  the  ardor  of  the  English  man-of-war's  man. 

First.  The  latter  is  generally  in  a  forced  service. 
The  merchantman  sailor  returns  from  the  East  or 
West  Indies  with  his  well-earned  shiners  in  his  fob. 
He  hears  that  the  press  is  hot,  and,  with  all  the 
stealthy  caution  of  a  runaway  slave,  he  attempts, 
perhaps  under  cover  of  night,  to  reach  his  happy 
home;  but  often,  in  sight  of  his  own  cottage  lights, 
he  is  seized  by  an  unfeeling  press-gang,  and  hurried 
on  board  a  tender.  There  are  no  family  circum- 
stances, however  tender,  that  can  move  compassion 
in  the  bosom  of  his  captors.  He  is  taken  into  serv- 
ice; and  when  the  day  of  battle  comes,  his  sailor 
hardihood,  the  severity  of  the  service,  the  force  be- 
fore, the  force  behind  equalize  what  of  fear  may  re- 
main, and  he  faces  the  dreadful  music,  but  feels  but 
little  concern  as  it  regards  the  victory  or  the  defeat. 

With  the  American  sailor  it  is  otherwise.  His 
may  be  called  voluntary  service.  True,  he  may 
have  taken  the  bounty  while  "half-seas-over;"  but 


BETHEL    CAUSE.  421 

he  lays  the  principal  part  of  that  indiscretion  to 
himself,  and  soon  makes  up  his  mind  to  bear  up  for 
the  two-year  service.  He  goes  on  board  with  a  full 
determination  to  sustain  the  honor  of  his  flag;  and 
in  the  day  of  trial  he  fights  desperately. 

Second.  The  English  service  is  generally  cruel 
and  degrading,  to  a  proverb.  The  frequent  music 
of  the  lash  brutalizes  the  unhappy  sufferers  till  the 
dignity  of  manhood  is  all  gone.  Their  pride  of 
country  is  drained  drop  by  drop,  till  their  blood 
refuses  to  redden  their  brow  at  the  sight  of  an  ap- 
proaching frigate.  How  can  it  be  otherwise  ?  Who 
can  be  proud  of  a  country  that  delights  to  make 
the  long  furrows  of  slavery  on  his  back?  Indeed, 
they  can  not  repress  the  idea  that  their  worst  ene- 
mies are  those  of  their  own  ship.  They  stand,  and 
go  through  all  the  evolutions  of  a  battle,  of  course; 
but  they  care  not  how  soon  the  cannons  cease  to 
roar,  and  they  are  permitted  to  enjoy  the  hospital- 
ities of  prisoners  of  war.  There  is  less  barbarity  in 
our  navy,  and  our  men  are  not  so  deeply  degraded. 
So  far  as  we  copy  the  example  of  England  in  this 
respect,  it  only  works  evil  to  our  service. 

The  voluntary  entrance  of  our  seamen,  the  short- 
ness of  the  service,  the  mildness  of  discipline,  all 
conspire  to  buoy  them  up  in  their  place;  so  that 
each  man,  in  the  tumult  of  battle,  not  only  obeys 
the  orders  of  his  officers,  but,  so  far  as  may  be 
consistent  with  them,  exercises  his  own  personal 
knowledge  and  skill  in  dealing  his  blows  on  the 


422  THE    CROSS. 

enemy,  so  that  he  is  soon  dismantled,  and  compelled 
to  strike.  There  is  much  in  this.  Officers  might 
give  orders  for  every  thing  to  be  done,  which  might 
lead  to  a  favorable  result;  but,  after  all,  the  man- 
ner of  doing  them  is  more  than  half  the  battle. 
We  know  that  the  fear  of  disgrace,  or  the  lash, 
might  make  things  move  like  clock-work  on  board 
a  frigate,  but  then  the  movement  is  servile,  and  not 
intelligent — an  empty  parade,  destitute  of  that  pa- 
triotism that  swells  the  freeman's  breast.  It  would 
be  an  easy  matter  for  a  slave,  at  the  word  of  com- 
mand, to  point  a  cannon,  and  for  another  to  apply 
the  match;  but  American  sailors,  at  the  word  of 
command,  not  only  point  the  gun  and  apply  the 
match,  but  they  do  all  as  experienced  engineers  who 
feel  an  interest  in  the  result. 

The  Last  War  with  England,  although  short, 
demonstrated  the  superior  tact  of  our  sailors  in 
naval  combat.  Our  Government,  doubtless,  glories 
in  the  fact.  But  would  it  not  add  additional  luster 
to  our  stars,  if  it  could  be  said  that,  while  Ameri- 
can* sailors  excel  in  valor,  in  skill,  in  patriotism, 
they  excel  also  in  civility,  in  morality — yea,  in  pure 
and  undefiled  religion?  Many  in  our  merchant 
service  have  availed  themselves  of  the  watch  below 
in  improving  their  original  stock  of  knowledge. 
Others,  who  were  supremely  ignorant,  have  learned 
to  read.  What  might  be  done  in  our  navy,  by  way 
of  training  our  seamen  in  all  that  is  great  and  glo- 
rious ! 


COLLEGE    AGENCY.  423 


XXXIV. 

COLLEaE  AGENCY— MILFORD  AND  BA- 
TAVIA   CIRCUITS.  4 

COLLEGE     AGENCY. 

1855.  WE  received  an  appointment  as  Agent  for 
the  Hillsboro  Female  College.  As  we  were  entering 
on  this  work  some  of  the  banks  in  Cincinnati  broke, 
and  many  of  the  citizens  of  Highland  county  had 
deposited  their  money  in  them.  This  gave  us  a 
considerable  backset.  The  first  thing  that  struck 
me  was,  that  the  town  people  had  not  given  the 
enterprise  as  generous  a  heading  as  they  ought  to 
have  done.  Of  this  the  county  complained,  and  we 
made  known  their  complaints.  At  a  subsequent 
meeting  the  citizens  liberally  enlarged  their  sub- 
scriptions, and  we  went  forth  with  more  boldness. 

I  felt  a  very  deep  interest  in  the  institution,  and 
thought  that  it  would  become  the  most  famous  of 
all  our  female  schools.  A  preacher  will  say,  "Yes, 
every  brother  thinks — for  the  time  being — that  his 
own  appointment  is  the  great  work;  and  it  is  well 
that  he  can  so  think."  We  have,  however,  reasons 
above  all  this.  The  location  is  perhaps  unparal- 
leled in  point  of  health.  We  still  hope  that  the 


424  THE    CROSS. 

embarrassment  of  the  institution  will  be,  by  some 
means,  thrown  off,  and  that  it  will  rise  up  to  the 
high  destiny  of  which  it  is  worthy.  The  subscrip- 
tion, when  handed  to  me,  amounted  to  about  four 
thousand,  six  hundred  dollars.  That  year,  by  en- 
largement of  old  subscriptions,  and  additional  sub- 
scriptions, and  shares  sold,  it  was  increased  to  about 
twelve  thousand  dollars.  Although  I  helped  at  Con- 
ference to  thank  a  brother  for  raising  four  hundred 
dollars  for  another  school,  by  a  rising  vote,  yet  I 
was  blessed — I  expected  nothing  of  this  kind;  and 
I  got  nothing.  I  never  could  understand  why  a 
Conference  should  thank  an  agent  for  doing  the 
work  assigned  him,  any  more  than  they  should 
thank  a  preacher  for  doing  the  work  of  a  circuit. 
It  is  not  in  harmony  with  our  theological  hym- 
nology — 

"0  that  each  in  the  day  of  his  coming  may  say, 

I  have  fought  my  way  through; 
I  have  finished  the  work  thou  didst  give  me  to  do." 

Indeed,  it  is  hardly  in  keeping  with  our  prosaic 
faith,  if  we  hold  to  Wesley,  who  said,  "Learning  is 
good,  but  saving  souls  is  better."  Still  the  agent 
may  do  this.  We  attended  several  large  meetings — 
one  in  particular,  where  we  made  a  good  haul  for 
the  College,  and  where,  we  humbly  hoped,  we  helped 
to  save  souls.  If  we  did,  we  trust  the  Lord  has 
recorded  it. 

I  pretty  well  explored  the  county,  sold  a  number 
of  shares,  and  got  many  promises  for  the  future; 


MILFOED    CIRCUIT.  425 

some  of  which  I  might  have  realized  by  continuing 
in  that  work,  but  my  tenacious  disorder  forbade. 
So,  in  order  to  better  my  condition  in  regard  to 
laborious  riding,  I — "jumped  out  of  the  frying-pan 
into  the  fire." 

. •  ', T,ffc.r    .-.'-H?  «•!>«_«'  V    •  •T- 

MILFOED    CIECUIT. 

1856.  We  have  a  warm  feeling  for  this  circuit, 
because  there  are  many  of  the  members  who  have  a 
just  regard  for  temperance  and  all  Christian  graces. 
And  those  of  them  who  have  been  unfortunately 
involved  in  the  still-commerce,  are  in  other  respects 
good  Methodists.  They  are  warmly  attached  to  our 
doctrines  and  usages,  and  firm  defenders  of  our  gov- 
ernment, and  in  no  instance  have  they  risen  in  op- 
position to  the  Episcopacy. 

They  are  strong  against  the  frivolous  fashions  of 
the  day,  and  seem  as  if  they  would  die  in  defense 
of  the  customs  of  the  fathers.  Nevertheless,  the 
chief  labor  of  their  lives  has  been  in  sustaining  the 
distillery.  And  while  they  continue  to  do  so,  there 
is  a  part  of  the  community  who  will  never  embark 
the  welfare  of  their  souls  in  the  Methodist  Church. 
We  may  have,  from  year  to  year,  an  ingathering 
of  attaches  of  the  distillery,  or  of  Sunday  school 
children,  who  have  from  infancy  seen  the  dark  col- 
umn of  smoke  rolling  over  their  heads,  as  regularly 
as  the  sun,  and  have  never  questioned  its  origin  or 
end.  And  we  are  glad  that  such  are  accessible. 

But  we  will  never  assume  that  high  position  there 

36 


426  THE    CROSS. 

which  the  early  organization  of  that  society  de- 
serves, till  the  Church  washes  her  hands  of  that 
iniquity.  It  has  ever  been  a  rule  in  our  ministry 
to  preach  against  the  special  sins  of  that  division 
of  the  work  to  which  we  have  been  appointed. 
What  would  it  avail  to  preach  on  the  Blue  Ridge 
against  a  sin  of  some  seaport — say  smuggling-^-or 
to  preach  in  Vermont  against  the  sin  of  raising 
Indian  corn  for  the  distilleries?  I  can  not  conceive 
of  the  feeling  of  the  minister  who  can  serve  a 
Church  a  whole  year,  and  never  touch  on  a  beset- 
ting sin  in  that  Church. 

When  I  came  to  the  circuit  it  was  a  serious  ques- 
tion with  me,  "  What  must  I  dof"  I  saw  clearly 
that  among  a  people  who  seemed,  in  many  important 
points,  to  love  Methodism,  I  could  shape  my  course 
so  as  to  be  acceptable,  if  not  popular.  But  could 
I  take  this  course  and  clear  my  skirts?  I  finally 
concluded  before  the  Lord  to  do  my  duty,  if  it 
brought  me  on  short  allowance.  Still  I  intended  to 
defer  my  battle  till  the  people  had  got  well  ac- 
quainted with  me;  for  I  believed  I  had  some  good 
points  as  well  as  they. 

In  the  mean  time  Thanksgiving  day  was  ap- 
proaching, and  a  brother  requested  me  to  give  no- 
tice that  there  would  be  preaching  on  that  day.  I 
asked  him  who  would  preach.  He  said,  "Never 
mind;  somebody  will."  So  I  gave  it  out,  supposing 
he  was  going  to  get  some  one  from  the  city.  When 
the  day  arrived  there  were  at  first  very  few  at  the 


MILFORD    CIECUIT.  427 

meeting-house.  I  said,  "Brother,  you  will  have  a 
small  congregation  to  preach  to." 

"You  must  preach." 

"I  had  rather  not.  You  never  told  me  that  it 
was  expected  for  me  to  preach;  and,  besides,  the 
occasion,  thanksgiving,  might  lead  me  to  say  some- 
thing that  might  hurt  the  good  feelings  of  some." 

"0,  never  fear.  We  are  a  people  who  can  not 
be  hurt,  if  you  preach  the  truth." 

"God  forbid  we  should  preach  any  thing  else!" 

Presently  we  had  a  large  congregation,  and  nearly 
all  those  of  the  traffic.  They  listened  with  the  most 
profound  attention,  although  I  touched  upon  the  sins 
of  the  nation,  and  especially  drunkenness;  for  they 
love  to  see  the  drunkard,  as  a  poor,  singed  goat, 
bear  off  the  iniquity.  But,  toward  the  close,  I 
called  their  attention  to  the  thanksgiving.  This 
was  not  the  sermon;  indeed,  in  many  places,  no 
sermon  was  preached.  The  thanksgiving  is  in  the 
devotional  exercises  to  follow.  We  must  acknowl- 
edge the  great  mercies  of  God- — bewail  our  misim- 
provement — promise  for  the  future.  I  then  observed 
that  I  was  at  a  great  loss  about  framing  a  prayer 
suitable  to  all  present,  for  two  classes  are  here; 
and,  after  a  pause,  said,  I  believe  I  will  make  two 
prayers.  Then  each  member  may  make  his  choice, 
and  carry  it  home.  The  first  prayer  might  be 
something  like  this:  "0  Lord,  we  acknowledge  our 
great  obligations  to  thank  thee  for  the  mercies  of 
the  past  year — a  year  of  unusual  plenty.  Our  pas- 


428  THE    CROSS. 

tures  are  green  and  luxurious;  our  bottoms  are 
bursting  up  with  potatoes ;  plenty  reigns  around  us. 
We  see  it  is  our  duty,  after  providing  for  our  own 
household,  to  be  generous  to  the  poor,  to  sustain  the 
missions,  the  Bible,  Sunday  school,  and  tract  socie- 
ties, and  to  do  all  the  good  we  can  with  our  abundant 
means.  Amen,  and  amen."  The  other  might  run 
thus:  "0  Lord,  it  has  been  a  year  of  uncommon 
plenty.  Our  bottoms  are  crowded  with  corn,  and 
all  the  fruits  of  the  earth  are  abundant.  We  feel 
grateful,  and  mean  to  apply  these  blessings  as  we 
have  ever  done.  We  will  haul  our  wood  to  the 
furnace,  and  our  corn  to  the  great  crib,  and  help 
to  stir  up  the  fires  of  the  distillery;  and  we  will 
send  down  such  a  stream  of  blue-ruin  as  we  have 
never  raised  before.  We  know  that,  in  so  doing, 
we  will  have  a  hard  row  to  hoe;  our  own  sons  may 
get  to  crooking  their  elbows  too  often.  Then 
friends,  family,  and  fortune  will  all  go;  then  will 
come  delirium  tremens,  insanity,  death — and,  last 
of  all,  the  drunkard's  hell;  but  we  will  say,  with 
Hezekiah,  '  truth  and  peace  will  be  in  our  day. ' 
Nay-men,  and  nay-men." 

About  six  months  after,  some  said  my  last  prayer 
did  not  suit  them.  But  I  told  them,  whether  it 
suited  them  or  not,  they  had  fulfilled  all  that  I  had 
promised  the  Lord  for  them.  They  had  carried  all 
their  corn  and  wood  to  the  distillery,  and,  in  so 
doing,  they  had  chosen  that  prayer.  From  that 
time  to  the  close  of  the  year,  I  paid  due  attention 


MILFORD    CIRCUIT.  429 

to  the  northern  institution.  Still,  brother  Fitch 
and  myself  took  in  about  seventy-five  new  members 
on  the  circuit.  We  presented  the  following  report 
on  the  subject  of  Temperance,  at  Conference: 

Your  Committee  are  compelled  to  admit,  that,  of 
late,  there  has  been  an  increasing  declension  of  the 
general  temperance  reformation.  It  is  no  uncommon 
thing  now  to  see  what  has  seldom  been  seen  for  the 
last  twenty  years — the  sparkling  and  seducing  de- 
canter, unvailed,  in  our  wedding  and  social  parties, 
and  ladies,  yet  in  their  teens,  sipping,  with  shame- 
less sang  froid,  what  would  craze  a  genuine  teeto- 
taler. In  our  national  anniversaries  and  public 
banquets  the  old,  barbarous  custom  of  toasting 
ourselves  sick,  out  of  tender  regard  for  the  health 
of  others,  is  greatly  reviving;  and  the  more  scien- 
tifically liquors  have  been  analyzed,  and  the  more 
nakedly  their  ingredients  have  been  turned  up  to 
the  noonday  sun,  the  more  thirsty  the  intemperate 
seem  for  the  ruinous  draught.  Our  post-offices — 
the  purity  of  which  ought  to  be  dear  to  every 
American  citizen — are  thrown  too  often  into  grog- 
geries  and  dens  of  drunkenness,  where  females  and 
children  can  not  approach  without  being  exposed  to 
blasphemies  and  sickening  exhibitions  of  human  de- 
pravity. Our  Church  has  always  cooperated  with 
every  institution  laboring  to  establish  national  and 
social  Temperance  in  our  land;  but  during  the 
whole  fight  we  have  not  neglected  our  own  con- 


430  THE    CROSS. 

cern — the  lodge  of  Methodism — so  that,  notwith- 
standing the  increase  of  our  membership,  we  have 
at  this  time  less  to  do  with  intoxicating  spirits 
than  we  ever  had. 

With  great  delight  we  state  that  the  cause  of 
Temperance  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has 
been  continuous,  onward,  onward,  from  our  organ- 
ization. 

"  Bent  on  purpose  grand  and  glorious, 
Her  banners  move  in  course  victorious." 

The  experience  of  many  years  has  confirmed  us 
in  the  doctrine,  that  the  religious  reformation  of 
the  drunkard  is  the  most  reliable — the  most  per- 
manent. Lorenzo  Dow  used  to  say  that  there  were 
but  two  specifics  in  the  case:  one  was  to  put  an 
eel  in  a  quart  of  rum,  and  drink  generously;  the 
other  was  the  grace  of  God.  "We  never  had  any 
faith  in  his  eel-bounce;  but  the  grace  of  God  we 
can  label,  "Tried." 

We  know  of  only  one  medium  now  in  connection 
with  the  Church  and  still-house:  "That  corn!"  0, 
that  corn!  Some  of  our  folks  are  still  engaged  in 
that  wicked  and  disreputable  commerce.  Our 
brethren  who  may  not  have  been  thrown  where 
Satan's  choice  seats  are  may  not  be  initiated  into 
the  modus  operandi.  As  soon  as  you  approach 
such  a  place,  the  black  temple  of  Copper  Nosey 
looms  up,  like  nothing  else  but  the  back  door  of 
hell.  As  you  advance  you  will  encounter  a  toper 
in  almost  every  square,  all  in  different  stages  of 


MILFOED    CIRCUIT.  431 

progress.  One  is  quite  good-natured,  and  comfort- 
ably "how  came  ye  so?"  Another  is  raging  and 
declaiming  as  if  he  were  the  Emperor  of  the  Moon. 
A  third  is  peaceably  sleeping  on  the  sidewalk,  with 
his  cheek  slapped  up  against  a  curb-stone — 

"  The  flies  creeping  in,  and  the  flies  creeping  out, 
And  sporting  his  eyes  and  his  nostrils  about." 

But  here  conies  a  team,  superannuated  and  gaunt, 
and  behind,  mounted  on  a  pyramid  of  corn,  high 
and  dignified,  sits  an  exhorter,  or,  it  may  be,  a  local 
preacher.  Our  preacher  dares  not  pass  the  last- 
mentioned  case.  He  has  a  commission  from  the 
Church,  and  reins  up,  and,  descending  from  his 
high  estate,  he  roots  the  drunkard  over  with  his 
muddy  boot,  and  says,  "Halloo,  here!  are  you  not 
ashamed  to  be  lying  here,  dead  drunk,  in  open  day- 
light?" 

The  drunkard  drawls  out,  "Ashamed  enough! 
but  you  brought  me  to  it!" 

"How  can  you  make  that  out?" 

"Why,  you  carry  your  corn  to  the  distillery; 
they  make  the  sparkling  whisky;  I  drink,  and 
become  fuddled;  but  you  are  'the  great  first  cause, 
least  understood.'" 

The  drunkard  rolls  back  on  his  curb  pillow;  the 
preacher  drives  on,  lamenting  the  wickedness  of 
these  degenerate  days,  but  scowls  defiance  at  every 
Templar,  Son,  or  Daughter  he  may  meet. 

The  preacher  in  charge  says,  "  I  '11  have  a  big 


432  THE    CROSS. 

meeting;  that  I  will."  "Do  so,"  say  the  pious;  for, 
as  it  was  of  old,  so  now  there  are  some,  even  in 
Sardis,  who  have  not  defiled  their  garments.  The 
meeting  comes  on;  several  are  powerfully  convicted; 
the  big  tears  course  down  their  cheeks;  but  still 
they  come  not.  A  friend  says,  "Try  them  another 
night;  try  them  once  more — only  once  more;"  and 
so  from  week  to  week;  but  they  come  not.  When 
you  get  their  only  reason  why,  it  is,  "We  can  not 
come  and  be  surrounded,  and  talked  to,  and  prayed 
with,  by  those  who  are  living,  as  we  believe,  in 
mortal  sin."  The  preacher  sees  that  there  is  a  class 
of  people  around  which  Methodism  can  never  reach, 
till  she  washes  her  hands  of  this  iniquity.  He  sees 
that  he  must  battle  the  whole  watch  with  the  mon- 
ster. Perhaps  one  may  be  ready  to  say,  as  Peter, 
"And  what  shall  we  have,  therefore?"  Truly,  that 
is  a  question.  Surely,  you  will  have  hard  times, 
and  may  have  to  eat  your  own  horse;  but  we  hope 
that,  in  the  spirit  of  martyrdom,  you  will  say,  "  Let 
a  hundred  horses  be  devoured;  but  let  the  Church 
of  Grod  swing  free." 

"But,"  says  another,  "is  there  no  one  to  whom 
we  can  look  for  help  in  this  age  of  reformation?" 
You  will  have  to  gather  instruction  from  behind 
the  reformation.  A  pious  Catholic  woman  was  seen^ 
weeping  on  the  street.  A  passenger  inquired  what 
was  the  matter.  "0,  sir,"  said  she,  "I  have  lost 
my  crucifix,  and  now  I  have  nothing  to  pray  to  but 
Jesus  Christ!"  You  must  not  lean  on  the  outsiders, 


MILFOED    CIRCUIT.  433 

though  temperate  they  be.  They  will  look  compla- 
cently on,  and  be  highly  diverted,  like  the  frontier 
mother  who  stood  in  her  cabin  door  and  beheld, 
with  a  smile,  her  husband  engaged  in  mortal  com- 
bat with  a  huge  bear.  When  the  hunter  had  gained 
the  victory,  with  the  skin  of  his  teeth,  he  upbraided 
his  wife  for  not  coming  down  to  his  rescue,  and 
especially  for  smiling  at  the  blood  and  sweat  he  had 
shed.  She  coolly  replied  that  she  had  never  seen  a 
fight  before  in  which  she  felt  so  little  interest,  as  it 
regarded  who  might  whip.  Funds  they  have,  but 
they  must  go  for  ice-cream,  and  oyster  suppers,  and 
picnics,  and  costly  music,  so  that  the  inebriates  say 
they  have  only  changed  the  complexion  of  intem- 
perance, and  are  like  unto  a  man  who  boasts  highly 
of  having  quit  tobacco  chewing,  but,  nevertheless, 
smokes  like  a  locomotive. 

Brethren,  the  minister  of  God  has  a  work  to  do 
in  temperance  that  none  other  will  or  can  do.  His 
temperance  is  not  only  a  human  virtue,  but  a 
Christian  grace;  not  only  the  temperance  that 
rejects  manifest  poison,  but  "temperance  in  all 
things."  He  admires  and  indorses  the  temperance 
that  won  Cyrus  an  empire;  but  he  strikes  for  that 
temperance  at  which  God  has  priced  the  crown  in- 
corruptible. Our  preachers,  however,  have  much  to 
encourage  them. 

1.  We  know  some  who  once  traded  with  the 
distillery  who  have  abandoned  it  as  a  loathsome 

thing,  and  we  believe  they  would  suffer  martyr- 

37 


434  THE    CROSS. 

dom  before  they  would  be  driven  back  to  the 
practice. 

2.  Others  are  in  a  transit  state.    When  we  speak 
to  them  on   the  subject,  they  will  smile   and   say, 
"Well,  in  truth,  I  do  not  like  the  business.     I  have 
thought  some  about  quitting;  but  I  can  not  see  my 
way  exactly  clear  just  now,  and  for  the  present  will 
have  to  do  as  I  have  done."     We  here  bless  God, 
and  take  courage.     It  requires  only  a  little  more 
effort  to  capsize  a  cake  already  half  turned,  and  our 
late  President  Taylor  said,  in  a  similar  case,  "A 
little  more  grape,  Captain  Bragg!" 

3.  The  best  is,  no  Methodist  believes  in  whisky- 
growing.     Those  who  contend  for  the  practice  never 
advance  one  argument  that  half  satisfies  themselves. 
The  discerning  minister  always  discovers  in  them 
evident  marks  of  painful  conviction,  and  their  whole 
demeanor  but  forcibly  declares, 

"  We  know  the  right,  but  still  the  wrong  pursue." 

"Then,"  it  may  be  asked,  "why  do  they  do  it?" 
We  answer,  There  is  a  sin  that  underlies  the  whole 
transaction — a  sin  as  fatal  to  the  soul  as  drunken- 
ness—  covetoiisness.  All  Methodist  farmers  would 
prefer  a  clean  trade,  all  things  being  equal;  but  the 
offer  of  two  cents  more  on  the  bushel,  or  the  paltry 
expense  of  toll,  determines  the  will,  and  drives  the 
wagon  to  the  still-house;  and  it  is  notorious  that 
the  most  wealthy  among  them  are  penurious  to  a 
proverb.  They  stick  to  the  poll-tax  which  the 


MILFORD    CIRCUIT.  435 

stewards  adopt  in  their  estimate;  and  they  seem  to 
think  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  preacher — be  he 
rich  or  be  he  poor — to  bear  one-half  of  the  expenses 
of  their  wealthy  circuits.  If  they  can  not  come  out 
of  his  pocket  they  must  come  out  of  his  horse  or 
his  hide ;  for  the  doctrine  is  stereotyped  on  the  cere- 
brum and  cerebellum,  "The  leaner  the  hound  the 
swifter  the  chase." 

So  we  find,  without  elaborate  search,  that  the 
idolatry  of  covetousness  is  the  jackal  of  the  still- 
house.  When  this  calm  and  settled  avarice  is  lashed 
into  a  tempest  by  the  preaching  of  temperance,  it 
becomes  doubly  distilled,  and  threats  of  starvation 
fall  thick  and  heavy..  True,  they  sometimes  make 
a  benevolent  effort,  when  they  go  through  the  proc- 
ess of  what  is  called,  in  those  parts,  "buying  up 
the  preacher" — a  donation  call.  The  preacher  may 
be  entirely  ignorant  of  the  design;  but,  whether  he 
is  or  not,  he  will  have  the  extreme  mortification, 
when  he  comes  to  the  footing  of  his  quarterage,  to 
find  that  he  has  been  made  to  buy  up  himself, 
besides  making  presents  to  his  own  wife  and  chil- 
dren of  some  pretty  toys,  which  smile  in  contrast 
with  the  furniture  of  the  parsonage,  but  which  will 
by  no  means  make  the  pot  boil. 

What  is  the  conclusion? 

1.  There  is  not  a  shadow  of  doubt  resting  on  this 
body  in  regard  to  the  man  who  stands  day  by  day 
at  his  bar,  dealing  out  poison  and  death  to  his 
neighbors'  children,  destroying  the  peace  of  families, 


THE     CROSS. 

and  inciting  to  desperate  deeds,  and  ofttimes  bloody 
murder.     He  is  wicked — his  act  immoral. 

2.  Neither  do  you  entertain  a  doubt  concerning 
the  merchant  who  supplies  him,  and  is  accessory; 
for  if  the  first  serves  Baal  a  little,  he  serves  him  a 
great  deal.     He  is  not  only  a  co-worker  with  that 
retailer,    but  with   a  hundred   others,   so   that  his 
guilt   is  out  at  compound  interest.     His   standing 
partially    behind    the    screen    avails    nothing.     His 
bread    and   butter   depend   on    the   diligence    with 
which  his  customers  retail  their  drams.     And  in 
the  same  proportion  he  lays  up  gold  and  silver,  he 
treasures  up  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath.     His 
trade  is  immoral. 

3.  We  need  not  say  you  have  no  doubts  about 
the  distiller.     He  has  none  about  himself,  and  com- 
monly he  evinces  no  desire  to  rob  any  evangelical 
Church  of  livery  to  serve  the  devil  in.     His  great- 
est claim  on  mercy  is — he  is  no  hypocrite.     Never- 
theless, he  is  immoral. 

4.  The  whisky-growing  farms  are  the  only  avail- 
able arsenals  of  the  vast  army  of  intemperance,  and 
the  Methodist  farmers  who  cultivate  them,  make  it 
their  business  to  roll  the  ammunition  down  to  the 
nearest  magazine  of  woe,  and  on  the  23d  or  25th 
of  November  offer  thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God 
for  the  abundant  harvest  of  spiritual    grape    and 
canister.     Now,  neither  the  distiller  nor  the  vend- 
er could  carry  on  their  work  of  desolation  without 
the  cultivator.     So  he  has  the  unenviable  distinction 


MILFORD     CIECUIT.  437 

of  setting  this  vast  machinery  of  insanity  and  death 
in  motion.  And  if  he  who  putteth  the  bottle  to 
his  neighbor's  mouth  is  bending  under  the  curse  of 
the  Almighty,  what  must  we  say  of  those  mischiev- 
ous commissaries  who  keep  that  bottle  supplied 
with  an  inexhaustible  stream  of  anguish  and  ruin? 
True,  they  plead  their  own  cause;  but  who  does 
not?  But  their  two  main  points  of  defense  are  so 
weak  that  we  can  hardly  attribute  them  to  the  in- 
stigation of  the  devil. 

1.  They  say  that  whisky  is   made    for  medical 
purposes.     But    we    answer   that    no    conscientious 
and  intelligent  physician,  in  view  of  the  late  analy- 
sis of  Ohio  whisky,  would  prescribe  it  even  for  the 
bots.      It  is  wicked  to  follow  a  business  that  does 
more  harm  than  good  to  our  world. 

2.  If  every  drop  of  it  is  made  for  medical  pur- 
poses, still  the  world  would   breathe   easier  in  the 
absence  of  a  medicine  which  alternately  saves  one 
and  kills  a  thousand. 

3.  Allowing  all  that  is  claimed,  that  the  still  is 
the  sovereign  specific,  the  fountain  of  health  and 
immortality  —  the  long-sought  spring  of  Ponce  de 
Leon — still  this  does  not  enter  into  the  motives  of 
our    self-deceived    brethren;    because    there    is    no 
medical  benevolence  in  selling  corn  for  forty  cents 
per  bushel  to  the  distillery,  while  people  in  honest 
trade  are  giving  only  thirty-five.     The  same  breth- 
ren clothe  the  naked  every  day  when  they  rise,  and 
feed  the  hungry  every  time  they  eat.     They  quote 


438  THE    CROSS. 

often  this  passage:  "Give  strong  drink  to  him  who 
is  ready  to  perish;"  but  neither  will  this  meet  their 
case.  It  is  no  benevolence  in  times  of  scarcity  to 
give  four  gallons  of  whisky  to  him  who  is  ready  to 
perish  with  thirst,  and  by  so  doing  take  away  a 
bushel  of  corn  from  him  who  is  ready  to  perish 
with  hunger.  And,  besides,  they  do  not  give  at 
all,  but  sell  at  an  advanced  price.  And  this  is 
their  crying  sin,  that  they  sell  corn  to  those  who 
sell  it  in  whisky,  not  only  to  the  sober,  but  to 
those  who  are  truly  ready  to  perish — perhaps  the 
finishing  dose. 

4.  They  are  concerned  about  no  other  medicine. 
If  whisky  will  not  cure,  the  sick  may  go  to — the 
grave.  They  do  not  grow  rhubarb,  poppies,  nor  even 
lobelia.  The  other  main  point  is — necessity.  What 
shall  we  do  with  "that  corn?"  "How  shall  we 
cultivate  our  land  to  profit?"  We  need  not  meet 
this  defense  before  a  body  of  men  so  well  acquainted 
with  our  agricultural  prosperity,  the  high  price  of 
provisions,  and  the  countless  mouths  to  be  fed  in 
this  country. 

Finally,  we  feel  driven,  logically  and  conscien- 
tiously, to  present  the  following  resolutions  for  the 
consideration  of  the  Conference: 

1.  Resolved,  That  it  is  irreligious  for  our  mem- 
bers to  hold  commerce  with  distilleries,  saving  such 
as   distill   exclusively  for   medical    and   mechanical 
purposes. 

2.  Resolved,  As  a  ministerial  body,  in  our  place, 


BATAVIA    CIKCUIT.  439 

we  do  approve  of  our  ministers  preaching  against 
the  above  evil — it  is  their  duty  to  do  so. 

3.  Hesolved,  We  do  most  affectionately  beseech 
the  members  of  our  Church  not  to  engage  in  a 
speculation  where  the  minute  good,  if  any,  is  over- 
powered by  such  stupendous  evil. 

BATAVIA    CIRCUIT. 

1860-61.  This  was  our  last  circuit.  The  first 
year  I  labored  with  brother  James  H.  Herron,  and 
two-thirds  of  the  last  year  with  brother  Thomas 
Lee.  At  the  close  of  the  first  year  my  health 
seemed  to  be  getting  better,  and  in  all  good  faith  I 
ventured  on  another  appointment;  but  my  com- 
plaint increased  in  violence,  till  I  saw  I  would  have 
to  surrender.  My  external  appearance  was  healthy, 
and  I  kept  my  suffering  to  myself,  and  forced 
myself  through  all  kinds  of  weather  and  roads  to 
my  appointments,  till  the  third  quarterly  meeting 
conference,  when  I  made  a  statement  of  my  peculiar 
affliction,  and  requested  the  presiding  elder  to  grant 
me  a  dispensation.  The  brethren  generally  sympa- 
thized with  me,  and  treated  me  in  a  Christian  and 
genteel  manner.  I  could  say  much  good  of  this 
circuit,  but  find  my  work  has  been  swelling  beyond 
what  I  contemplated.  At  the  Conference  I  asked  for 
a  superannuated  relation,  and  my  brethren  granted 
it  with  all  that  affectionate  and  Christian  spirit  that 
has  always  distinguished  them. 

I  saw  that  I  could  not  continue  and  do  my  duty 


440  THE    CROSS. 

without  prematurely  destroying  myself;  that  there 
were  strong  and  healthy  men  anxious  to  enter  the 
field,  and  that  it  was  altogether  right  that  I  should 
superannuate.  And  seeing  it  was  my  duty,  what  else 
remained  to  me  but  to  march?  And  may  the  Lord 
so  prepare  my  soul  by  grace  and  judgment  that 
when  I  see  my  pathway  clear,  to  march,  even  when 
it  must  be  to  the  air  of  Roslin  Castle! 


MISCELLANEOUS    WORK.  441 


XXXV. 
MISCELLANEOUS    WORK. 

As  we  have  been  in  the  habit  of  corresponding 
with  public  papers  and  periodicals,  it  may  be  ex- 
pected that  we  will  say  something  on  this  subject. 
We  commenced  very  early  in  life.  'Bating  our  first 
attempts,  known  only  to  ourself  —  highly  approved 
to-day  and  utterly  condemned  to-morrow  —  our  first 
adventure,  of  course  in  poetry,  was  an  answer  to 
my  oldest  sister's  address  to  the  Petersburg  volun- 
teers before  their  departure.  We  can  not  remember 
one  line  of  that  heroic  effort,  and  we  would  not 
attempt  to  rouse  it  up  from  its  sweet  and  long 
oblivion. 

After  moving  to  New  Orleans  I  assisted  my 
brother  some  in  a  lively,  and,  among  the  American 
population,  a  popular  paper.  After  entering  the 
traveling  connection,  I  wrote  occasionally  for  the 
Advocate.  When  the  Ladies'  Eepository  was  start- 
ed, it  seems  that  our  great  men  did  not  give  it  that 
help  which  might  have  been  expected  from  them. 
Bishop  Hamline  had  a  hard  work  on  hand,  but  he 
was  sufficient.  At  no  subsequent  period  has  that 
periodical  been  more  in  accordance  with  the  taste 


442  THE    CROSS. 

of  our  membership,  although  some  of  the  most  ac- 
complished of  our  ministry  have  directed  it.  "We 
continued  our  help,  such  as  it  was,  under  succeed- 
ing editors,  till  their  correspondence  has  swelled 
beyond  their  disposal.  We  have  written  also  for 
papers  of  a  political  cast;  and  the  most  part  of  the 
Western  Pilot  is  original — professedly  or  not.  We 
might  fill  a  large  volume  with  these  occasional 
productions,  but  this  would  be  foreign  to  our  work; 
and  being  closely  allied  to  the  passing  events  of  the 
time,  their  chief  interest  would  now  find  no  place. 
We  will,  however,  close  with  a  sample  of  this  part 
of  our  labor. 

THERE  IS  SURELY  BUT  ONE  STEP  BETWEEN 
"EARTH  AND  HEAVEN. 

While  seated  in  my  study,  my  mind  adverted  to 
Mrs.  Sarah  Edwards,  the  accomplished  consort  of 
President  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  the  daughter  of 
James  Pierpont,  an  eminent  and  useful  minister 
of  New  Haven.  It  is  said,  she  was  a  young  lady 
of  uncommon  beauty — a  beauty  which  was  rendered 
unrivaled  by  that  rare  loveliness  of  expression 
which  is  the  result  of  a  combination  of  intelligence, 
cheerfulness,  and  benevolence.  She  possessed  an 
unusual  share  of  natural  talent,  highly  improved 
by  a  liberal  and  polished  education.  She  was  gentle 
and  polite,  and  all  her  conduct  and  conversation 
were  under  the  government  of  Christian  charity. 
She  was  one  of  those  distinguished  flowers  which, 


MISCELLANEOUS    WOKE.  443 

consecrated  to  God  in  the  bud,  prove  no  vain  sacri- 
fice. It  is  said  she  in  a  remarkable  manner  exhib- 
ited the  life  and  power  of  religion  when  only  five 
years  of  age.  This  early  piety  grew  with  her 
growth,  and  strengthened  with  her  strength.  Her 
uncommon  devotion  to  God  arrested  the  attention 
of  Mr.  Edwards  several  years  before  their  union, 
and  he  recorded  the  following  testimony  of  her 
worth:  "They  say  there  is  a  young  lady  in  New 
Haven,  who  is  beloved  of  the  great  Being  who 
made  and  governs  the  world;  and  that  there  are 
certain  seasons  in  which  this  great  Being,  in  some 
way  or  other,  comes  invisibly  to  her,  and  fills  her 
mind  with  exceeding  sweet  delight,  and  that  she 
hardly  cares  for  any  thing  except  to  meditate  on 
him;  that  she  expects  after  a  little  while  to  be 
caught  up  to  heaven,  being  assured  that  he  loves 
her  too  well  to  let  her  remain  at  a  distance  from 
him  always.  There  she  is  to  dwell  with  him,  and 
to  be  ravished  with  his  love  and  delight  forever. 
Therefore,  if  you  present  all  the  world  before  her, 
with  the  richest  of  its  treasures,  she  disregards  it, 
and  is  unmindful  of  any  pain  or  affliction.  She  has 
a  strange  sweetness  in  her  mind,  and  singular  purity 
in  her  affections;  is  most  just  and  conscientious  in 
all  her  conduct,  and  you  could  not  persuade  her  to 
any  thing  wrong  or  sinful  if  you  would  give  her  all 
the  world,  lest  she  should  offend  this  great  Being. 
She  is  of  a  wonderful  sweetness,  calmness,  and  uni- 
versal benevolence  of  mind,  especially  after  this 


444  THE    CROSS. 

great  God  has  manifested  himself  to  her  mind.  She 
will  sometimes  go  about  from  place  to  place,  singing 
sweetly,  and  seems  to  be  always  full  of  joy  and 
pleasure,  and  no  one  knows  for  what.  She  loves  to 
be  alone,  walking  in  the  fields  and  groves,  and 
seems  to  have  some  invisible  being  conversing  with 
her."  Perhaps  there  never  was  a  more  congenial 
couple  than  Edwards  and  his  guileless  partner — 
such  a  duplicate  as  Thomson  would  have  called  a 
"matchless  pair,"  the  only  shadow  of  difference 
this — 

"  Hers  the  mild  luster  of  the  hlooming  morn, 
And  his  the  radiance  of  the  rising  day." 

Mrs.  Edwards  was  a  judicious  and  faithful  mis- 
tress of  a  family.  She  was  not  only  alive  to  the 
domestic  duties  that  naturally  fall  into  the  province 
of  the  female,  but,  as  her  husband  was  sometimes 
pressed  beyond  measure  in  his  ministerial  work,  she 
relieved  him  much  of  those  perplexing  and  outdoor 
concerns  which  commonly  belong  to  paternal  super- 
vision. This  shows  the  superiority  of  her  mind,  for 
she  was  not  drilled  to  it  by  Eastern  usages.  She 
also  saw  that,  in  the  multitudinous  business  of  her 
husband,  he  might  have  to  lament  in  the  end,  "I 
have  kept  the  vineyard  of  others,  but  my  own  vine- 
yard I  have  not  kept;"  so  she  took,  in  a  great 
measure,  the  religious  education  of  the  children  on 
herself.  She  did  not,  like  some  mothers,  wait  till 
her  children  should  get  more  sense  before  she  would 
attend  to  their  best  interest.  She  was  like  that  ma- 


MISCELLANEOUS    WORK.  445 

tron  saint  who,  when  she  awakened  her  children  in 
the  morning,  implored  God  that  they  might,  in  early 
life,  "awake  to  righteousness,  and  sin  not;"  when 
she  washed  their  bodies,  she  prayed  that  God  might 
wash  their  souls  in  the  laver  of  regeneration;  when 
she  dressed  them,  she  prayed  that  they  might  be 
found  in  the  wedding  garment  at  the  coming  of  the 
Lord;  and  when  she  gave  them  the  breast,  she 
called  on  God,  with  strong  cries  and  tears,  that  she 
might  not  nourish  and  raise  a  child  for  the  devil. 
But  Mrs.  Edwards  did  not  stop  here.  She  helped 
much  her  husband  in  his  ministerial  work.  She 
was  eminently  qualified  to  do  this.  Her  conversa- 
tion was  in  heaven.  It  was  not  conversation  about 
religion,  about  its  doctrines,  its  truths,  its  duties — 
her  conversation  was  religion  itself,  the  very  heaven 
of  love.  She  encouraged  and  promoted  female  meet- 
ings, and  was  prompt  to  take  up  her  cross  at  every 
call.  There  was  no  gloom  in  her  theology.  Her 
religion  was  the  religion  of  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 
It  is  perfectly  overwhelming  to  read  some  of  her 
spiritual  enjoyments  left  on  record.  On  one  occa- 
sion she  writes:  "At  the  same  time  my  heart  and 
soul  all  flowed  out  in  love  to  Christ,  so  that  there 
seemed  to  be  a  constant  flowing  and  renewing  of 
heavenly  love  from  Christ's  heart  to  mine,  and  I 
appeared  to  myself  to  float  and  swim  in  those  bright, 
sweet  beams  of  the  love  of  Christ,  like  the  motes 
swimming  in  the  beams  of  the  sun,  or  streams  of 
light  which  came  in  at  the  windows.  My  soul  re- 


446  THE    CROSS. 

mained  in  a  kind  of  heavenly  elysium.  So  far  as  I 
am  capable  of  making  a  comparison,  I  think  that 
what  I  felt  each  minute,  during  the  continuance  of 
the  whole  time,  was  worth  more  than  all  the  out- 
ward joy  and  comfort  which  I  had  experienced  in 
my  whole  life  put  together."  At  another  time,  she 
writes:  "So  intense  were  my  feelings,  when  speak- 
ing of  these  things,  that  I  could  not  forbear  rising 
up,  and  leaping  with  joy  and  exultation.  I  felt,  at 
the  same  time,  an  exceeding  strong  and  tender  affec- 
tion for  the  children  of  God,  and  realized,  in  a  man- 
ner exceedingly  sweet  and  ravishing,  the  meaning 
of  Christ's  prayer,  'That  they  all  may  be  one,  as 
thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they 
also  may  be  one  in  us.'  This  union  seemed  to  me 
an  inconceivable,  excellent,  and  sweet  oneness;  and, 
at  the  same  time,  I  felt  that  oneness  in  my  soul 
with  the  children  of  God.  A  hymn  was  sung,  but 
when  these  words  were  read, 

1  My  sighs  at  length  are  turned  to  songs, 
The  Comforter  is  come,' 

so  conscious  was  I  of  the  joyful  presence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  I  could  scarcely  refrain  from  leaping 
with  transports  of  joy." 

Here  my  mind  wandered  from  this  pattern-mis- 
tress of  a  parsonage  to  the  sisters  Fletcher  and 
Eogers,  and  a  number  of  holy  women  on  this  side 
of  the  sea,  embraced  in  my  own  memory;  and  all 
these  were  singularly  fond  of  the  communion  of 
saints — an  interchange  of  religious  views  and  ex- 


MISCELLANEOUS    WORK.  447 

perience.  Then  it  struck  me,  may  not  an  exercise, 
so  dear  to  the  saints  in  all  ages  on  earth,  even 
enter  into  the  inexplicable  promise,  "  the  joys  of  thy 
Lord?"  Then  I  exclaimed,  "Surely,  there  is  but 
one  step  between  earth  and  heaven !" 

Then  one  of  those  reveries  which  sometimes  take 
possession  of  my  mind  came  over  me,  and  me- 
thought  my  soul  soared  aloft  beyond  the  bounds  of 
time  and  sense — yea,  was  permitted  to  behold  in 
the  unfading  groves  of  paradise  the  blood-washed 
throng.  As  the  last  lovely  melody  of  celestial 
music  died  away  on  the  air,  a  spirit  of  unearthly 
beauty  arose,  and  in  a  voice  far  beyond  the  stretch 
of  mortal  tune,  addressed  the  mute  and  listening 
multitudes. 

NATHANAEL. — "Brethren  beloved,  I  stand  before 
this  congregated  election,  as  a  peculiar  case  of  happy 
and  facile  transfer  from  the  economy  of  Mount  Zion, 
into  all  the  blessings  of  the  new  and  everlasting 
covenant.  Born  and  raised  an  Israelite,  I  was  zeal- 
ous of  the  law,  the  sacrifices,  and  the  traditions  of 
the  fathers.  They  were  weighty  and  imposing,  and 
even  in  the  deadness  of  the  letter  were  transcend- 
ently  superior  to  the  vain  and  empty  shows,  and 
indecent  and  lascivious  sacrifices  and  offerings  of 
the  idolatrous  Gentiles.  Moreover,  I  discovered, 
from  time  to  time,  that  beyond  the  outward  exhibi- 
tion of  our  mysteries  and  rights,  there  was  a  deep- 
ly-hidden spirituality  that  I  could  but  partially 
apprehend.  This  drew  my  soul  out  in  frequent  and 


448  THE    CROSS. 

fervent  prayer  and  meditation,  especially  as  in  that 
day  it  was  thought  that  the  time  of  the  promise 
drew  nigh.  Sometimes  I  experienced  what  I  be- 
lieved to  be  signal  manifestations  of  Divine  power. 
On  a  certain  occasion,  while  deeply  engaged  under 
a  tree,  I  was  suddenly  overwhelmed  by  an  unearthly 
influence.  It  seemed  as  if  celestial  spirits  were  hov- 
ering all  around  me,  and  as  if  the  Divine  arms  were 
underneath  and  round  about  me,  and  something 
seemed  to  whisper,  '  Hold  up  thy  head,  thy  redemp- 
tion draweth  nigh.'  Soon  after  this  I  met  with 
Philip  of  Bethsaida,  and  he  said  unto  me,  '  We  have 
found  him  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law,  and  the 
prophets,  did  write.'  A  bare  allusion  to  our  much- 
loved  and  long  looked-for  Messiah,  struck  a  cord 
which  vibrated  through  soul  and  body;  but  when 
he  added,  'Jesus  of  Nazareth,'  my  spirit  sunk  with- 
in me,  and  I  said  rather  petulantly,  'Can  any  good 
thing  come  out  of  Nazareth?'  His  answer,  though 
short,  was  indicative  of  strong  confidence,  'Come 
and  see.'  It,  moreover,  struck  with  force  a  princi- 
ple established  within  me;  one  that  was  afterward 
so  often  insisted  on  by  our  beloved  brother  Paul — 
'Prove  all  things  and  hold  fast  to  that  which  is 
good.'  How  forcible  are  right  words!  And  when 
I  saw  the  Savior,  his  exterior  mien  and  Godlike 
carriage  struck  me  with  solemn  but  delightful  awe. 
His  first  salutation  was,  'Behold  an  Israelite,  in- 
deed, in  whom  there  is  no  guile!'  Here  I  felt 
thrown  into  a  very  delicate  difficulty.  I  might 


MISCELLANEOUS    WORK*  449 

have  used  a  little  voluntary  humility,  in  denying 
the  allegation;  but  I  could  not  do  so  without  deny- 
ing and  departing  from  my  true  character;  for, 
through  the  mercy  of  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  a 
conflict  of  faith  and  prayer,  I  had  gotten  the  vic- 
tory over  all  guile  and  hypocrisy,  and  had  often 
sung  with  growing  delight,  'Blessed  is  the  man  to 
whom  the  Lord  imputeth  not  iniquity ;  and  in  whose 
spirit  there  is  no  guile.'  So  I  stood  up  in  my  integ- 
rity, like  Job,  and  answered,  '  How  knoweth  thou 
me  ?'  But  when  he  said,  '  Before  Philip  called  thee, 
when  thou  wast  under  the  fig-tree,  I  saw  thee,'  my 
very  soul  appeared  to  melt  down  into  wonder,  love, 
and  praise.  For  I  knew  that  no  mortal  eye  had 
witnessed  what  had  there  transpired  between  God 
and  my  poor  soul  under  that  shade — the  blessed 
fig-tree ;  and  I  immediately  exclaimed,  '  Rabbi, 
Rabbi!  thou  art  the  Son  of  God;  thou  art  the 
King  of  Israel!'  In  that  hour  I  began  to  compre- 
hend the  mystery,  hid  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  All  my  prejudices,  and  views,  and  senti- 
ments which  were  not  of  God's  right-hand  planting 
began  to  wither  and  die,  and  I  sweetly  and  gradu- 
ally entered  into  the  new  and  heavenly  Jerusalem. 
What  was  commenced,  through  the  faith  in  a  coming 
Messiah,  was  consummated  in  the  powerful  out- 
pouring of  the  day  of  Pentecost — a  day  to  be  held 
in  remembrance  through  the  countless  cycles  of  an 
endless  immortality.  Brethren,  I  have  had  my 

\\arfare,  and  my  afflictions,  which  were  common  to 

38 


450  THE    CROSS. 

the  Church  of  the  First-Born;  and,  0,  my  last  bit- 
ter conflict!  But  they  are  all  left  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river.  They  are  as  though  they  had 
not  been — while  my  soul  swims  in  a  sea  of  glory, 
with  God  eternally  shut  in.  Halleluiah  to  God,  for 
this  heaven  of  love — this  continuity  of  bliss!" 

Here,  as  this  Christian  patriarch  ceased,  a  glow 
of  holy  sympathy  lighted  up  the  innumerable  host, 
and  the  orchestra  of  heaven  struck  a  peal  for  which 
the  laws  of  mortal  interlocution  have  made  no  pro- 
vision. Then  one,  who  appeared  to  be  as  great  a 
favorite  in  heaven  as  he  had  been  among  the  saints 
on  earth,  rose  to  address  the  happy  assemblage. 

SIMON  PETER. — "Holy  and  beloved,  the  saluta- 
tion of  our  Lord  to  Nathanael  was  the  highest  en- 
comium ever  conferred  on  man  in  his  mortal  state. 
As  it  regards  myself,  in  my  unregenerated  state, 
ambition  was  my  shrine.  I  gloried  in  being  a  son 
of  Abraham,  and  was  zealous  of  the  law.  There 
was  nothing,  however  chivalrous  or  grand,  that 
was  predicted  of  the  coming  Messiah  as  a  mighty 
conqueror  and  martial  leader,  which  was  too  glowing 
for  my  ambitious  spirit.  Believing  in  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, I  at  first  attached  myself  to  his  interests,  in  the 
full  conviction  that  it  was  he  who  would  restore  the 
kingdom  to  Israel.  Strange  it  was,  that  this  con- 
viction should  abide  after  I  had  well  marked  his 
humility  of  spirit,  his  benevolent  bearing,  and  his 
extreme  deadness  to  the  honors  of  the  world  and 
the  pride  of  life!  I  honestly  aspired  after  power 


MISCELLANEOUS    WORK.  451 

and  distinction  under  his  administration.  However, 
above  all  these  selfish  breathings  of  my  soul,  there 
arose  an  undying  attachment  to  the  Savior.  I 
counted  not  my  life  dear  in  the  defense  of  his  per- 
son and  his  claims.  And  on  that  awful  night, 
when  he  predicted  that  he  would  be  forsaken  of  all 
before  the  morning-light,  I  thought  this  could  not, 
and  should  not  be;  and  you  remember  with  what 
vehemence  I  exclaimed,  'Though  all  men  forsake 
you,  yet  will  not  I.'  This  I  believed,  because  I 
knew  that  I  had  animal  courage  enough  to  carry  it 
out,  even  unto  death.  And  I  was  right  glad  when 
he  inquired  if  we  had  swords.  From  the  purpose 
of  dying  for  him  that  night,  if  necessary,  I  did  not 
waver  for  a  moment — no,  not  even  when  the  mob 
approached,  for  then  I  drew  my  sword  and  made 
my  charge.  But  when  I  saw  the  immaculate  Jesus 
calmly  extend  his  arm  of  power  and  close  the  wound 
my  blade  had  made;  when  he  said,  'Put  up  thy 
sword ;  for  he  who  takes  the  sword  shall  perish  by 
the  sword;'  when  I  saw  that  his  kingdom  was  to 
be  established  in  righteousness,  and  not  with  the 
shout  of  the  warrior  and  garments  stained  with 
blood ;  when  I  saw  that  it  was  moral  power  and 
suffering  by  which  he  was  to  conquer,  my  heart 
seemed  to  die  within  me — and  I  shamefully  fled. 
Still  I  could  not  give  him  up;  all  my  interest 
appeared  to  center  in  the  mysterious  sufferer.  I 
turned,  and  followed  at  a  distance,  and  at  last  en- 
tered into  the  judgment-hall.  But  0,  what  unnat- 


452  THE    CROSS. 

ural  tremors  coursed  along  my  nerves!  and  when  I 
was  challenged  as  a  follower  of  Christ — challenged, 
brethren,  by  a  maid-servant — I  denied  my  best,  my 
greatest  friend.  And  when  they  seemed  resolved  to 
fasten  the  charge  upon  me,  and  I  found  that  the 
mild  language  that  Jesus  had  taught  me  was  likely 
to  betray  me — 0,  shame  on  my  guilty  cowardice! — 
I  cursed  and  swore  most  infamously.  Just  then  the 
cock's  shrill  clarion  pierced  through  my  soul.  I 
looked  toward  the  bar  at  the  silent  Lamb,  and  his 
eyes  of  reproof,  swimming  in  tears  of  compassion, 
rested  on  me;  and  well  might  it  be  said  I  went  out 
and  wept  bitterly.  0,  the  days  of  indescribable  an- 
guish— almost  of  despair — that  I  suffered  till  the 
morning  of  the  resurrection!  Still  I  loved  the 
Lord,  and  I  could  not  abandon  the  assembly  of  his 
saints.  Strange,  that  they  bore  with  the  back- 
slider! I  was  permitted  to  mingle  my  tears  with 
his  sorrowing  disciples.  The  spirit  had  almost  failed 
before  the  God  that  made  it,  when,  on  the  glorious 
morning  of  the  third  day,  certain  sisters  broke  in  upon 
our  conference,  exclaiming,  with  unbridled  joy,  '  The 
Lord  has  risen  from  the  dead !  We  have  seen,  we 
have  heard  him — he  has  spoken  to  us ;  and  we  have 
a  message  from  the  Lord  to  you,  0  brethren !  He 
sent  us  to  say  to  Peter  and  the  brethren,  "Behold! 
I  go  before  you  into  Galilee.'"  '0,  not  to  me! 
Did  he  say  Peter?'  'Yes,  Simon;  he  not  only 
mentioned  thee,  but  mentioned  thee  first:  "Go  and 
tell  Peter  and  the  brethren,"  were  the  words  of  our 


MISCELLANEOUS    WORK.  453 

risen  Jesus.'  0,  what  unspeakable  joy  sprung  up 
in  my  soul !  And  I  said  in  my  heart,  '  Blessed  be 
the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
has  begotten  us  again  unto  a  lively  hope  to  an  in- 
heritance which  is  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that 
fadeth  not  away.'  But  my  joy  and  peace  were  in- 
creased in  our  interview  on  the  sea-shore,  where  he 
renewed  my  commission  as  often  as  I  had  denied 
him  on  that  horrible  night.  'Feed  my  sheep.'  On 
the  day  of  Pentecost  a  full  consecration  was  sealed 
on  my  soul;  and,  feeling  that  I  was  under  greater 
obligation  to  speak  well  of  the  Lord  than  others, 
because  in  me  much  had  been  forgiven,  I  sprang  to 
my  feet.  0,  what  light  then  shone  on  my  soul! 
The  plan  of  salvation  stood  before  me  in  all  its  un- 
folded splendor.  I  saw  that  the  Gospel  was  not  in- 
tended merely  to  free  us  from  the  Roman  yoke;  but 
I  saw — yea,  felt  —  that  it  delivered  us  out  of  the 
hands  of  all  our  enemies,  that  we  might  walk  be- 
fore God  in  righteousness  and  in  holiness  all  the 
days  of  our  lives. 

"Through  many  trials  and  much  tribulation  I 
have  reached  the  bright  goal.  And  now  let  my  pre- 
tended successors  below  boast  about  Rome  and  the 
patrimony  of  St.  Peter !  What  was  my  patrimony  on 
earth  but  a  broken  net,  and  a  shattered  bark,  and 
a  daily  death?  Here  is  the  patrimony  that  fadeth 
not  away;  and  the  idea  that  it  is  not  for  me  only, 
but  for  all  the  blood-washed  saints,  enhances  its 
worth  and  highly  sharpens  my  relish.  Yes,  .it 


454  THE    CROSS. 

fadeth  not  away!  The  roses  of  heaven  will  blush  a 
deeper  red;  the  lilies  will  shed  a  more  dazzling 
white,  while  eternal  ages  are  onward  rolling — 'it 
fadeth  not  away !'  Alleluiah!" 

SAUL  OF  TARSUS. — "I  once  said  I  was  the  chief 
of  sinners.  Some  of  our  more  modern  friends  on 
earth  have  since  gone  to  extensive  pains  to  soften 
or  whitewash  that  sentence.  They  have  said  that 
Paul  felt  as  all  young  converts  feel,  who  knowing 
the  sore  of  their  own  hearts,  and  being  ignorant  of 
the  secret  convictions  of  others,  are  disposed  to 
write  hard  things  against  themselves.  Little  do 
they  know  of  the  divine  impulse  under  which  we 
wrote  and  spoke.  The  storms  of  life  all  over  and 
heaven  gained,  I  am  not  disposed  to  retract  a  single 
word.  Sin  draws  the  shades  of  its  complexion  from 
the  circumstances  attending  its  commission.  There 
might  have  been  those  in  my  day,  who  might  have 
been  guilty  of  sins  which  Saul  of  Tarsus  even 
would  have  shuddered  at;  but  they  had  not  Saul's 
culture,  Saul's  education,  Saul's  opportunities.  I 
was  well-read  in  the  sacred  writings  and  the  com- 
mentaries of  the  most  approved  Rabbis;  but  I  car- 
ried with  me  all  the  time  the  most  unmistakable 
mark  of  the  beast  of  hell — the,  spirit  of  persecution. 
Bigotry  congealed  all  the  kindly  streams  of  human 
nature.  I  pursued  even  tender  females  in  my 
wrath,  and  I  persecuted  the  Church  of  God  beyond 
measure.  It  is  well  for  me  that  remorse  can  not 
enter  heaven;  that  tears  can  not  stain  the  golden 


MISCELLANEOUS    WORK.  455 

streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  Some  men's  sins 
go  before  them  to  judgment;  the  sins  of  some 
follow  after.  The  day  of  retribution  came.  At 
the  gates  of  Lystra  the  cup  of  trembling  was 
pressed  to  my  lips.  I  drank  the  bitterness  of 
Stephen's  martyrdom,  with  the  heavy  interest  of  the 
anguish  of  resuscitation,  which  Stephen  never  felt. 
I,  too,  was  persecuted,  buffeted,  whipped,  impris- 
oned, and  shipwrecked ;  but  I  gloried  in  my  afflic- 
tions, because  I  saw  the  retributive  justice  of  God, 
and  because  I  knew  that  they  would  work  out  for 
me  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory.  Well  do  I  remember  the  throes  of  the 
new  birth  through  which  I  passed  on  my  way  to 
Damascus.  While  breathing  out  threatening  and 
slaughter  against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,  the 
power  of  God  arrested  me.  'Saul,  Saul,  why 
persecutest  thou  me?'  And  I  said,  'Who  art 
thou,  Lord?'  I  knew  that  I  had  persecuted 
much  and  rather  indiscriminately,  and  began  to 
suspect  that  in  the  heat  of  my  zeal  I  had  torn  up 
some  wheat  with  the  tares;  and  my  inquiry  was,  in 
what  instance,  in  whose  case  I  had  offended  the 
Lord.  But,  0!  how  was  my  whole  soul  dismayed 
when  I  heard  that  hated  name — 'Jesus'  of  Naza- 
reth! I  saw  my  whole  work  condemned,  and  my- 
self involved  in  black  despair.  For  three  days  I 
ate  no  pleasant  bread  and  drank  no  reviving  cor- 
dial. All  was  midnight  darkness.  Then  I  be- 
thought me  of  the  means  of  grace,  and  kneeled 


456  THE    CROSS. 

before  the  Lord.  Hope  sprang  into  my  soul,  and  I 
began  to  look  for  deliverance.  While  sitting  in 
darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death,  the  door  was 
opened;  Ananias,  one  of  the  persecuted,  stood  before 
me.  He  might  have  said,  '0,  thou  proud  and 
haughty  persecutor  of  my  brethren  and  sisters  in 
the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ,  has  my 
God  humbled  thee  at  last?'  But  no;  he  gently  ap- 
proached, laid  his  hand  upon  my  head  and  said, 
'Saul — brother  Saul,  the  Lord — even  Jesus  who  ap- 
peared unto  thee  in  the  way — hath  sent  me  that 
thou  mightest  receive  thy  sight,  and  be  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost.'  The  scales  fell  from  my  eyes,  and 
blindness  from  my  mind,  I  saw  light  in  God's  light, 
and  praised  him  from  a  feeling  sense  of  his  pardon- 
ing love.  And  having  obtained  help  of  God,  I  per- 
severed in  the  way — enduring  the  cross,  despising 
the  shame,  and  am  now  exalted  to  the  kingdom  on 
high.  And  now  the  greatest  boast  I  make  in  heav- 
en's courts  is  this — '  a  sinner  saved  by  grace!' " 

Here,  again,  I  exclaimed,  "Surely,  there  is  but 
one  step  between  earth  and  heaven!"  But  a  voice 
within  said,  "Yes;  but  in  that  step  what  trials 
'in  number,  measure,  weight,'  may  come!  In  that 
mysterious  tread,  temptations,  sorrows,  bereave- 
ments, sometimes  shake  the  elect  to  his  solid 
foundation." 

THE    END. 


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